## Vitalik Buterin Unveils Privacy Roadmap to Enhance Ethereum Security
In response to community calls for improved privacy measures concerning crypto mixers, transparency, and regulation, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has released a privacy roadmap aimed at strengthening the Ethereum ecosystem. The roadmap addresses the delicate balance between privacy and decentralization, particularly in light of the U.S. government’s 2022 sanctions against Tornado Cash, an Ethereum mixing service. Tornado Cash obscures transaction histories by mixing various transactions, but the U.S. government argued that it facilitated money laundering, leading to a crackdown on individuals associated with the service. Consequently, many Ethereum developers distanced themselves from Tornado to avoid potential legal repercussions, and Ethereum validators and block builders limited their use of the mixer, resulting in slower blockchain performance.
Buterin’s roadmap emphasizes the use of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) as a key solution to privacy challenges. ZKP employs cryptographic algorithms to validate transactions without revealing the underlying data. There is a growing demand for algorithms that enhance privacy, particularly at lower layers (e.g., L1), to ensure security for both users and businesses. The roadmap identifies four primary areas of focus for privacy: on-chain privacy, partial anonymization of applications, protection of ‘reads’ to the blockchain, and network-level anonymity.
To achieve these goals, Buterin proposes integrating privacy features into wallets, including user-friendly interfaces and default security settings. He also suggests leveraging modularity to improve privacy, exemplified by the ‘one address per application model,’ where an address is linked to itself rather than to other addresses within the network. The roadmap outlines plans to streamline operations through FOCIL and EIP-7701 standards, minimizing unnecessary metadata to prevent censorship.
To combat eavesdropping, the roadmap includes the implementation of short-term TEE-based Remote Protocol Calls (RPC) until Private Information Retrieval becomes more feasible. By utilizing multiple RPCs, sensitive data exposure on the network can be minimized. Buterin aims to enhance blockchain user security by reducing the attack surface. Additionally, private transactions will be made more secure and cost-effective through proof aggregation protocols. Private wallets should incorporate features to safeguard private keys and maintain user data confidentiality to prevent data leaks. Furthermore, connections between applications should remain hidden to ensure that RPC nodes cannot inadvertently or intentionally access metadata.
Pascal Caversaccio, an Ethereum security researcher, has highlighted that trustless technology can inadvertently lead to increased surveillance and diminished privacy. By analyzing Ethereum metadata, it is possible to trace the flow of funds across the blockchain and reveal individual balances.
