How Blockchain can aid in the development of a privacy secure world

• Amber Smith
• January 16, 2024

Privacy is an important part of the world for companies as more people spend most of their time on the internet. In fact, many large companies like Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Snap, and Twitter make most of their money from the data people provide. As a result, many governments have come up with regulations for promoting data privacy. For example, the European Union passed the strict 261-page General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules in 2016. In the United States, regulators have also come up with rules that large companies must follow when handling user data.

Privacy and protection

The blockchain technology has an important role in promoting data privacy and user protection. Indeed, bitcoin was developed partly to help solve this crisis. Unlike fiat currencies like the US dollar and the euro, bitcoin ensures that people can send and receive funds without being tracked. Bitcoin’s technology has gone a long way to promote privacy. However, as a public blockchain, it has some vulnerabilities that have made it possible for transactions to be tracked. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to track and retrieve funds sent to Colonial Pipeline hackers in 2021. Developers have worked to solve these problems. For example, privacy cryptocurrencies like monero, dash, and Zcash have come up. These coins use advanced encryption to ensure that transactions cannot be tracked. As a result, they have become popular among people who strongly believe that transactions should be private. Unfortunately, they are also popular on the dark web where many illicit items are traded. The blockchain technology has also promoted privacy in other areas as well. For example, decentralised finance (DeFi) has changed how people buy and sell cryptocurrencies. It has also changed how people invest in a private way. Unlike centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, DeFi platforms do not collect personal information like email and phone number. Instead, the platforms only require for people to connect their wallet like MetaMask or Coinbase wallet. This is important because, according to the popular site CryptoMonday.de you can´t buy Bitcoin anonymously on the most popular centralized exchanges. Further, blockchain technology has also been used to improve security in website browsing. Brave Browser is a good example of a platform that is improving user security and privacy using blockchain. Unlike Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Brave comes loaded with privacy features that reduce the vast amount of data that website owners take. Brave also uses its cryptocurrency known as Basic Attention Token (BAT) to compensate users who opt to receive ads. The blockchain technology has also solved the challenge that many users face when using centralized technologies like PayPal and Skrill. These companies demand extensive information from their users as part of their KYC and AML processes. As a result, they can suspend user accounts at any time. Platforms powered by decentralized platforms don’t do that.

Main problems with privacy and security

The blockchain technology has solved many challenges relating to privacy and security. However, as a relatively new technology, there are many challenges and problems that emerge. For example, there is a challenge of regulations since the industry is not regulated in most countries. Countries like the US, UK, and Germany are yet to come up with regulations to protect users in industries like DeFi and non-fungible tokens (NFT). As a result, users of these platforms are at risk because of scant regulations. Another problem with privacy in the blockchain industry is the overall lack of recourse when something goes wrong. For example, with PayPal, it is possible to get your money back when you send it to a wrong address. With blockchain, missing a single digit in an address can lead to permanent loss of funds. This is a major challenge since cryptocurrency addresses are usually made up of long strings of letters and numbers. Additionally, decentralized platforms like those in DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse don’t have customer service representatives. This is a major challenge that many people face whenever they face difficulty. Finally, many platforms in the industry have questionable foundations and backgrounds. As a result, many people have lost money when their cryptocurrencies and platforms crash. Some of the most popular blow ups in the sector are Terra and its ecosystem like Anchor Protocol and Astroport. Companies like Voyager Digital and Celsius also collapsed in 2022.