One of the blockchain's best features is that it is transparent and public by default.
One of the blockchain's worst features (arguably), is that it is (you guessed it), public by default.
The world doesn't need to have access to the payment you sent your barber. (although some people choose to already share this via Venmo)
Every transaction being public may turn people away from participating in such a financial system. Many people have talked about this problem, but only one man, has proposed a solution:
An incomplete guide to stealth addresses:https://t.co/21Q18BrD30
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 20, 2023
Vitalik shared his blog post on this idea he has about creating 'stealth addresses' for Ethereum users.
(Don't bother reading it unless you have a PHD in mathematics)
Ethereum Stealth Wallets 101:
- Right now, every wallet address' is publicly viewable.
- Every transaction to/from an address is publicly viewable.
- Vitalik's proposal introduces rotating public wallets.
- These rotating wallets are public, and are controlled by your main wallet.
- Advanced cryptography connects the bridge between your main wallet and these public facing ones, making them untracable back to your main wallet.
There you have it, the great thing about globally open-source projects like Ethereum is that anyone can make proposals to improve the existing blockchain.
Privacy is a luxury, but sometimes transparency is a superpower.
Perhaps a mix of both, and having options to switch back and forth will be the best solution.
If this proposal gets accepted by the Ethereum community, and eventually implemented, we will be here to keep you updated.
Happy HODL'ing!
