Would you say there's no hope for privacy on Bitcoin anymore, and, if so, is it mainly because of KYC? I'm just thinking that the tradeoff seems inevitable: the more any given currency appreciates in value, the more regulators and the "old world" institutions are interested in controlling it.

Could things have gone differently in your opinion? And more importantly, do you see any paths forward for Bitcoin in this regard?

For example, would not privacy be good enough (whatever that means) if one purchases KYC-free Bitcoin and then goes through coinjoins on top of that?