Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has emphasized the importance of robust privacy protections for security. He urged the United States to support developers in creating privacy tools. This statement was made on the social media platform X.
“Good interview from Roman Storm. His trial is coming soon in 10 days,” said Buterin. “Privacy of messaging without backdoors is now widely accepted, and many in business and government regularly use tools like Signal. Improving privacy in other domains (including payments, identity, AI) is not something to be “balanced” against security, it’s a necessary part of our security. I hope the U.S. can lead the way in making a more secure world with stronger freedoms and fewer data leaks a reality. The first step is sending a clear signal to developers that this important work is welcome.”
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, recent U.S. legal and policy actions have targeted developers of privacy tools. Notably, Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, was arrested in August 2023 for allegedly enabling money laundering through crypto-mixing software. This has raised concerns among privacy advocates about the criminal liability of open-source developers and the broader impact on digital rights and innovation.
According to Wired, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of privacy technologies like Signal, which had over 40 million monthly active users worldwide as of 2024. The U.S. Senate officially approved Signal for staff communications in 2022, reflecting the growing use of encrypted messaging by businesses and government agencies.
Forbes reports that U.S. organizations experienced 3,205 publicly disclosed data breaches in 2023, marking the highest annual figure on record. Centralized database hacks at corporations and government bodies affected over 350 million records, highlighting persistent cybersecurity challenges.
According to his official bio, Buterin is a prominent voice on blockchain privacy and security. He advocates for technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and supports developers’ rights to build privacy tools while consistently publishing research and commentary on these issues.
