Bitcoin
Should Bitcoin (BTC) Add More Privacy Features?
Edward Snowden Goes After Bitcoin Developers: Should Bitcoin (BTC) Add More Privacy Features?
One of the most praised features of Bitcoin is its anonymity. Although all transactions and wallets are publicly available, users can hide behind wallet addresses. Furthermore, with no centralized entity behind the technology, there is no single party with the ability to view individuals’ data or be hacked. However, according to infamous whistleblower Edward Snowden, Bitcoin is still not private enough.
“For ten years I have been warning Bitcoin developers that privacy needs to be guaranteed at the protocol level. This is the final warning. The clock is ticking,” Snowden wrote in a statement. post on X.
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Snowden is a strong supporter of digital privacy, losing his job and his US citizenship when he discovered that the US government was carrying out mass surveillance of citizens. So it makes sense that he would be advocating for cryptocurrency. However, recent events have caused Snowden to call for new privacy measures.
Snowden’s post was a direct response to Wasabi Wallet’s ban of US users. The wallet service, developed by zkSNACKs, is known for its strong privacy features. Specifically, its “coinjoin” service. The protocol would aggregate many transactions across many wallets into a single transaction on the Bitcoin chain. This would effectively allow any wallet or transaction to remain anonymous to those viewing Bitcoin transactions. However, the wallet announced via X that it would be “terminating its coinjoin coordination service, effective June 1, 2024.”
Additionally, the wallet banned all users with US IP addresses. The measure was probably in response to the arrest of the founders of the Samurai Walleta similar wallet service.
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According to a press release from Department of Justice“Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill are accused of operating Samourai Wallet, an unlicensed money transmission company that executed more than $2 billion in illegal transactions and laundered more than $100 million in criminal proceeds.”
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornade Cash, another crypto mixing service, also faces trial on fraud charges.
Therefore, the move from Wasabi Wallet and zkSNACKs is likely a preventative measure to avoid legal issues in the US. However, according to Snowden, the real problem lies with the overall Bitcoin protocol. Third-party services need to create their own programs to provide complete anonymity on the Bitcoin chain. These services are therefore subject to government laws and have been seized in recent 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 protocol-level change that would provide more anonymity and eliminate the need for outside companies to create wallets to get around the problem. However, it’s unclear what Snowden’s “warning” actually entails and whether developers will heed the call.
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This article Edward Snowden Goes After Bitcoin Developers: Should Bitcoin (BTC) Add More Privacy Features? originally appeared in Benzinga.com
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