I said that because it's not a layer two, and you said "with bitcoin". Here was my response right after that:

Bitcoin’s layered approach delivers robust, optional privacy without the trade-offs of mandatory base-layer opacity.

Monero isn’t a Layer 2 (it’s a completely separate Layer 1 chain), so “pairing” it with Bitcoin just means holding two assets with no seamless integration, extra complexity and monero offers risk in no transparency in exchange for privacy that bitcoin incentives and is always building to improve.

I get it—some folks discover privacy risks with transparent transactions and jump to Monero.

But studying deeper shows Bitcoin’s ecosystem is evolving exactly the right way: rock-solid transparent base layer for settlement, auditability, and anti-fragility, with ever-improving optional privacy on higher layers.

Bitcoin’s advancing secondary layers address privacy effectively—while preserving the transparency that enables broad verification, emergent defenses, and real-world resilience.

• Lightning Network: As you said, open a channel and get private, instant transactions off-chain (onion routing hides details from intermediate nodes). Channels can stay open indefinitely, with watchtowers and justice transactions enforcing honesty. Big players (exchanges, payment processors) have strong incentives to play fair to protect reputation and liquidity. No need for a separate chain.

• CoinJoin (via Wasabi, Samourai/JoinMarket): Mix your UTXOs with others on-chain for excellent privacy without leaving Bitcoin. It’s non-custodial and improving constantly.

• Chaumian eCash (Cashu, Fedimint): This is the killer—blind-signature ecash tokens that are truly private and cash-like. Mint operators (communities, trusted groups, or even solo) issue untraceable tokens backed 1:1 by Bitcoin. Redeem anytime, no history attached. Fedimint adds community custody for scale and resilience—perfect for high-privacy use cases without Monero’s downsides.

• Ark Protocol (gaining traction in 2025-2026): A newer L2 that lets thousands of users share off-chain liquidity pools with non-interactive payments. Faster onboarding than Lightning, cheaper on-chain footprints, and built-in privacy options—all settling to Bitcoin’s secure base.

These aren’t theoretical—they’re live, improving, and built on Bitcoin’s proven foundation.

Transparency at L1 means anyone can audit supply, detect attacks, and rally defenses (as Szabo’s social scalability argues). Institutions, ETFs, and nations adopt Bitcoin partly because of that auditability—not despite it.

Monero’s mandatory privacy sounds ideal until you hit reality: 73 exchange delistings in 2025 alone (Kraken, Binance regions, many others due to regs), shrinking liquidity, and constant regulatory targeting.

It’s niche (~$8-9B market cap vs Bitcoin’s trillions), with far fewer nodes (~8-10k public vs Bitcoin’s 24,000+ reachable). That hurts accessibility and decentralization in practice.

Pairing them? You’re just exposed to two separate networks’ risks—Monero’s complex crypto (bigger bug surface), potential de-anonymization research, and ban vulnerability—without the seamless benefits of true L2s.

Atomic swaps exist but are clunky and low-volume. Bitcoin gives the best of both worlds: optional, upgradable privacy on layers that leverage the hardest, most decentralized money ever. No biases needed—the design wins long-term.