BlockWallet in Action (#4): NFT Privacy
#4 — This is the fourth post in our “BlockWallet in Action” series. In this series, we explore realistic and helpful ways to use BlockWallet after the upcoming release.
Last week’s post discussed how BlockWallet can be used to reclaim your privacy after having your wallet doxxed. The public nature of blockchain means that there are several ways to get exposed on-chain, leaving users vulnerable. Billionaire Mark Cuban infamously had his Ethereum portfolio exposed after sharing an NFT linked to his private wallet address. The event served as a stark reminder that even the most innocent of decisions can impact our privacy.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets that have unique properties, making them distinguishable from other assets. In short, they are “one-of-a-kind” assets that can be bought and sold in the digital world. NFTs often appear in the form of images or videos and offer artists a great opportunity to receive income for their work. Traditional works of art are valued for being “one-of-a-kind”, and NFTs extend this principle to blockchains. Despite being an innovation in blockchain and the digital economy, NFTs come with a host of privacy issues that could affect their continued adoption.
NFTs… Or Privacy?
Users can often be forced into choosing between NFTs and their privacy. Let’s use an example. Jennifer is an artist. She’s been able to support herself by specializing in digital art and getting involved with the NFT craze. NFTs allow her to earn income in a profession where turning a profit can often be difficult. Jennifer is fully involved in the NFT community and collects NFTs herself, however, she runs into one uncomfortable truth — she has to sacrifice her privacy for NFTs.
NFTs are either publicly linked to wallet addresses, or traceable to the addresses that funded them. When Jennifer buys or sells an NFT, she needs to expose her wallet address on the blockchain. Even if she creates a secondary wallet to buy and sell NFTs, she’d leave a trail of digital information that could be used to find her personal portfolio. Jennifer doesn’t want to reveal her financial situation to curious parties or worse — bad actors.
People with Jennifer’s wallet address can see the total value of her portfolio, the tokens she holds, and all of her previous transactions. As someone who makes the majority of her income through NFTs, she feels that information regarding her personal income should not be public for everyone to see on the blockchain. She’s able to sell art on other platforms without privacy concerns and thinks the same should apply to NFTs. As a result, she’s stuck deciding between two options — NFTs or privacy.
Don’t Compromise, Get BlockWallet
Millions of users just like Jennifer sacrifice their privacy for the benefits of blockchain. This friction casts a shadow over cryptocurrency and its chances of further mainstream adoption. Once users have full control over their privacy, they can enjoy the benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency without hindrance or hesitation.
With BlockWallet, users don’t need to choose between NFTs and privacy. BlockWallet works by using a smart contract to pool funds together, rendering their origins untraceable. Funds are accessible to users every step of the way but remain anonymous and obfuscated to onlookers.
Using BlockWallet, Jennifer could create a fresh wallet address containing funds with unknown origins. She could use this address to buy and sell NFTs without giving up her privacy. The wallet would not be linked to her personal portfolio in any way, and Jennifer would be free to earn income without overarching privacy concerns. BlockWallet allows users to create multiple addresses, so Jennifer could anonymously transfer funds to her portfolio as she pleases. Moving funds through the BlockWallet privacy pools ensures there’s no way to link a transaction to a certain address.
It’s getting harder and harder for everyday people like Jennifer to stay private. BlockWallet doesn’t compromise on privacy and offers users the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of cryptocurrency and blockchain without dilemmas. We’re making privacy seamless and accessible by knocking down the barriers faced by everyday users.
About BlockWallet
BlockWallet is the most private, non-custodial browser extension wallet, where users can store funds and interact with their favorite blockchain applications privately.
As crypto sees mainstream adoption, blockchain’s lack of privacy poses real security risks for newcomers and enthusiasts alike. BlockWallet is here to ensure that on-chain privacy does not lag behind. The wallet provides a set of advanced privacy tools wrapped in a familiar and user-friendly wallet experience, eliminating the friction faced by millions of users and making privacy accessible for everyone, everywhere.
Blockwallet uses battle-tested privacy-enhancing technology to protect your financial data. When you make transactions or interact with blockchain applications, the requests are sent through Privacy Proxies by default, concealing the IP address and other metadata, which can be used to identify the user. You can also use the Privacy Pools feature, powered by zk-SNARKs technology, to deposit and mix funds in a smart contract. This allows transferring funds without links to your history and identity on the blockchain, effectively rendering them untraceable.
Anyone can easily install BlockWallet and start reaping the benefits. Besides full privacy functionality, BlockWallet comes packed with an array of features that go beyond privacy for a seamless user experience. With full Web 3.0 support, the wallet allows you to connect to any dApp and harness the power of the decentralized web.
Reclaim your financial privacy on blockchain. Get BlockWallet.
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