Edward Snowden issues important warning about Bitcoin privacy

Edward Snowden, known as a former US security official, has raised critical concerns about the privacy risks of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, disproving the widely held notion of their complete anonymity and placing particular emphasis on the serious privacy risks.

Speaking during the recent Bitcoin conference, Snowden stated that most transactions on the Bitcoin network can be traced back to specific individuals. He noted that various inputs and outputs, such as compliance exchanges, can link these transactions to specific users.

This ability to track transaction history can reveal confidential information about their lives and relationships.

He also made it clear that governments and companies can use artificial intelligence to leverage transaction data to create detailed profiles of people without their consent. By analyzing transaction patterns, artificial intelligence and machine learning can identify unusual activity and reveal information about users’ behavior and connections, Snowden said.

What can be done?

A cornerstone, according to a privacy activist, should be to raise awareness and strengthen the privacy and security of BTC transactions. Snowden stressed that he has been raising these issues for more than a decade and that he is running out of time to address them.

The question now is: Can Bitcoin evolve to meet the growing demand for financial privacy without compromising its core principles of decentralization and immutability? As officials around the world talk more about cryptocurrency adoption, the answer becomes increasingly unclear.

About the author

Gamza Khanzadaev