Snowden Criticisms The Lack of Privacy in Bitcoin Highlights the Need for Protocol-Level Solutions
After the Samourai Wallet creators were recently charged, Snowden reaffirmed his concerns over privacy in the cryptocurrency space. His most recent comments were made in response to Zksnacks’ announcement that it would be discontinuing its coinjoin service, which allowed users to combine unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) in order to evade onchain surveillance. Snowden emphasised how important it is that Bitcoin developers include privacy measures at the protocol level.
On the social media platform X, Snowden said, “I’ve been warning Bitcoin developers for ten years that privacy needs to be provided for at the protocol level.” The leaker from the NSA and CIA also stated:
This is the final warning. The clock is ticking.
For a number of years, Snowden has often voiced concerns to developers. In an interview with Naomi Brockwell from 2020, he discussed the privacy limitations of the protocol. “It is clear to me that the developers have realised this should be done,” he said, emphasising that Bitcoin does not contain the required privacy protections. Snowden noted, “[Developers] haven’t actually moved to do this.” He then on, “Which is confusing to me because they’ve had years to do it.”
Snowden has previously commended zcash (ZEC), a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy. The renowned whistleblower, going by the alias “John Dobbertin,” took part in the first Zcash ceremony, which greatly aided in the network’s development. Upon bringing attention to the necessity for Bitcoin developers to incorporate privacy features, several people asked Snowden why he had left out monero (XMR).
“Any excuses for not using or endorsing Monero?” Vini Barbosa enquired. In response to Snowden’s statement, Bitcoin Core contributor Luke Dashjr said he had never heard such remarks from him before. “Anyway, just what are you thinking of? Since I’m not a cryptographer, I’m not aware of any workable options for protocol-level privacy at this time, Dashjr added. In response to Snowden’s revelation, a large number of people advertised their favored privacy assets.
