Should Bitcoin (BTC) Add More Privacy Features?

Edward Snowden Goes After Bitcoin Developers: Should Bitcoin (BTC) Add More Privacy Features?

One of the most prominent features of Bitcoin is its anonymity. While all transactions and portfolios are public, users can hide behind their wallet addresses. Additionally, because there is no central entity behind the technology, there is no single party that can view or hack individuals’ data. But according to famous whistleblower Edward Snowden, Bitcoin is still not private enough.

“I have been warning Bitcoin developers for a decade that privacy must be ensured at the protocol level. This is the final warning. The clock is ticking,” Snowden wrote. Publish on X.

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Snowden is a strong advocate for digital privacy; He lost his job and his US citizenship when it was revealed that the US government was conducting mass surveillance on citizens. So it makes sense for him to defend cryptocurrency. But recent events have led Snowden to call for more privacy measures.

Snowden’s post came in direct response to Wasabi Wallet’s ban on US users. The wallet service developed by zkSNACKs is known for its strong privacy features. Especially the “coinjoin” service. The protocol will aggregate many transactions from many wallets into a single transaction on the Bitcoin chain. This will effectively allow any wallet or transaction to remain anonymous to those viewing Bitcoin transactions. However, the wallet was announced through He said that “as of June 1, 2024, coinjoin will shut down its coordination service.”

Additionally, the wallet banned all users with IP addresses in the US. This move was likely in response to the arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet, a similar wallet service.

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“Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill are accused of operating Samourai Wallet, an Unlicensed Money Transaction Company that Processed Over $2 Billion in Illegal Transactions and Laundered Over $100 Million in Proceeds of Crime,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornade Cash, another crypto mixing service, is also on trial over fraud allegations.

So the move from Wasabi Wallet and zkSNACKs is likely a preemptive move to avoid legal trouble in the US. However, according to Snowden, the real problem is with the overall Bitcoin protocol. Third-party services must create their own programs to ensure complete anonymity on the Bitcoin chain. These services are then subject to government laws and have been seized in the last few months. According to Snowden, the solution to this is to change the Bitcoin protocol as a whole.

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Snowden’s “final warning” calls on Bitcoin developers to create a change that would provide greater anonymity at the protocol level and eliminate the need for outside businesses to create wallets to get around the problem. But it’s unclear what Snowden’s “warning” actually means and whether developers will heed the call.

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