Bitcoin startup Blockstream has unveiled new technology for shielding data on a blockchain.
Expanding on an old technique used to hide transaction amounts, the company has developed a new scheme dubbed 'confidential assets'
to conceal the types of assets in a transaction. Revealing just how the tech works, the startup has released a new paper yesterday,
co-authored by Blockstream developers Andrew Poelstra, Adam Back, Mark Friedenbach, Greg Maxwell and Pieter Wuille.
Using confidential assets, viewers of a blockchain would be able to see a transaction's senders and receivers, but not what kind of asset
is traded – whether bitcoin, stocks, gold, or something else.
Do you think confidentiality is important for blockchain technology adoption?
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In my opinion we need confidentiality in doing transactions as it serves as our protection from people who are good at doing bad things. For people who have a huge amount of bitcoin and has done huge transactions secrecy does not only protect their assets but also protect their life. But this features will be limited to the users only and will be available for show to the government in case there is a need to check our accounts or transactions.