3 Technical Proposals for Increasing Bitcoin’s Privacy

Bitcoin’s dominance and popularity as the most valuable decentralized digital currency is not disputable. Nevertheless, it is also not devoid of challenges. One of the major issues facing the Bitcoin network is its transaction privacy problem. In a bid to handle Bitcoin’s privacy issue, some efforts have been made. One of such initiatives is the introduction of several altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies unveiled after the excellent performance of Bitcoin) in the market with a keen emphasis on privacy. It is quite evident that the great response of the privacy-centric coins like Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) is an indicator of the gap in transaction privacy in the cryptocurrency world, specifically with regard to Bitcoin. Also, hard forks like Bitcoin Private (BTCP) have focused on offering privacy on deals and at the same time optimizing Bitcoin’s brand recognition.

As much as the introduction of privacy coins in the market is good for the crypto world, the majority of Bitcoin users maintain that it would be best if the Bitcoin network could step up its privacy. The major challenge with bolstering Bitcoin's network security lies in the fact that there are no officials to sign the paperwork for cooperation contracts with security and privacy solution providers. Perhaps the reason behind the challenges with agreeing on the Bitcoin Core upgrade is to curb unilateral implementation of changes by aspiring leaders.

Here are three technical proposals aimed at improving Bitcoin’s privacy:

Dandelion

There is a possible risk during diffusion (the process of transaction broadcast in the Bitcoin network) of ill-motivated actors operating as nodes, who pick up the transactions and trace them back to their source. As such, the possibility of establishing the sender’s IP address is very high. Dandelion is an innovative way of sending transactions using unsystematic passageways to a variable number of nodes, hence making the tracing of the sender more difficult. Still, you may better acquaint yourself with the issue of increasing Bitcoin’s privacy and share your knowledge on it and other crypto matters with other crypto enthusiasts by joining Trybe.

Numerifides Trust Consensus Protocol

Numerifides is a proposal by Tyler Hawkins, a developer who suggests having a system that allows inclusion of secure, decentralized, and human-readable names and other data on the Bitcoin network. These three variables are known as Zooko’s triangle. However, this proposal has privacy concerns, one being the possibility of users creating aliases and using them to transact on the network. Two actions happen in the creation of data through the Numerifides proposal. The first is that a user must lock up a specific amount of Bitcoin. The other is that they must avail proof of work (PoW) confirmation. The security of data is directly proportional to the amount of the time-locked Bitcoin and PoW. The proposal is an interesting approach to attaining secure and confidential data on the Bitcoins network. It may have some impact if it is approved and implemented.

Mimblewimble

Mimblewimble seals the gap left by Dandelion, which protects only the sender’s privacy. The proposal is meant to improve the chain privacy—the sender and recipient—the amounts transacted, and so many other possible identifiers. It is intended to ensure that all the dealings are private by default. The proposal was by Grin and Beam. However, on political and technical grounds, it is highly likely that Mimblewimble will not be integrated into Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Cash to enhance privacy. Maybe it will be attached to BTC as a sidechain. That way, all users will deal privately on Mimblewimbe sidechain without threatening the security of the main chain or subjecting absolute privacy on BTC users who may want nothing to do with it.