Edward Snowden urges privacy updates in Bitcoin amid Coinjoin closure

Edward Snowden has called on blockchain developers to enhance Bitcoin’s privacy following the crypto mixing services shutdown due to U.S. pressure.

Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden is urging blockchain developers to prioritize implementing privacy measures in Bitcoin on the protocol level, following the recent closure of mixing services in the U.S.

In an X post on May 3, Snowden noted he’d been warning Bitcoin developers “for ten years that privacy needs to be provided for at the protocol level,” adding that “the clock is ticking” in response to ZkSNACKs’ announcing the closure of Coinjoin, a crypto mixing service that is set to sunset its services on Jun. 1.

ZkSNACKs, the developer behind Wasabi Wallet, earlier announced its decision to stop supporting Coinjoin amid increasing pressure from law enforcement in the U.S.

The service’s shutdown follows New York federal prosecutors accusing Samourai Wallet founders of illegal transactions worth over $2 billion, signaling a wider crackdown on suspect crypto wallets and mixers by U.S. authorities. As crypto.news reported earlier, the severity of the charges highlights a broader crackdown by U.S. authorities on crypto wallets and mixers engaged in questionable activities.

Meanwhile, Snowden also drew attention on X to concerns raised by Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, regarding proposed reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The former NSA contractor echoed Goitein’s warnings, saying the NSA is now “days away from taking over the internet.”