People still say "Bitcoin is anonymous", but it never was. Bitcoin is pseudonymous. Every transaction lives forever on a public Ledger, and with enough data, those pseudonyms can be linked to real people.

Privacy tools emerged to fix that gap. CoinJoin, mixers, privacy wallets. Then, the developers were arrested. Tornado Cash. Samourai Wallet. That sent a clear message: building privacy is now treated as a crime.

So what changes in 2026? Do we finally get serious about privacy at the Protocol level? Zero-knowledge proofs already work. Zcash proves private transactions can exist without breaking security. ZK tech now secures billions across crypto.

The real question is not "can we", but "will we". Does Bitcoin stay transparently surveilled by default, or does it evolve to protect normal users from mass financial tracking?

If privacy is a right, should it live at Layer 1, or only on risky tools at the edges?

What do you think happens next?

#Bitcoin #Privacy #ZKProofs #Zcash #Crypto #FinancialFreedom #SelfSovereignty