📌 Privacy Push Amid Regulatory Pressure ⚖️

[madmax]

Ethereum’s new privacy efforts come as regulators move in the opposite direction. The US Treasury is weighing proposals that would require government identity checks for DeFi smart contracts.
Critics argue such measures could undermine decentralization and turn Web3 into another layer of financial surveillance. The clash between innovation and regulation is becoming more visible than ever.

[Couturier]

he clash between innovation and regulation is becoming more visible than ever

[Nahid Hossen]

If Treasury forces KYC at the contract level, that’s not DeFi anymore — it’s just TradFi with new plumbing. Innovation dies when every wallet has to register before interacting.

[Rimon Khan]

Privacy isn’t anti-regulation, it’s pro-freedom. ETH’s roadmap is trying to balance user protection with sovereignty, but heavy-handed rules risk pushing developers offshore.

[Abdul Khan]

The irony: regulators want transparency to stop crime, but blockchain is already more traceable than cash. Forcing ID checks on smart contracts could backfire and increase shadow activity.