Published on: 2021-01-19T15:44:11+00:00
PayJoin, a privacy technology for Bitcoin, has the potential to disrupt blockchain surveillance and preserve Bitcoin's fungibility. Several projects, including BTCPayServer, Wasabi Wallet, JoinMarket, and BlueWallet, have already implemented the PayJoin protocol standard. The adoption of PayJoin is being monitored on a dedicated wiki page, similar to the Bech32 adoption page.While PayJoin offers significant privacy benefits for the global transactions graph, its adoption faces challenges. The economic incentives for using PayJoin are not as significant compared to the privacy advantages. P2P exchanges are expected to be early adopters of this technology. However, the user experience of PayJoin is currently not optimal, primarily due to users' unfamiliarity with bip21 uris.To encourage wider adoption, it is suggested that wallets' developers make PayJoin payments the default option, without any additional cost or effort required from users. This would require wallets to communicate and interact seamlessly, allowing users to select contacts from their address book and make payments without realizing they are using PayJoin. This approach aims to combat surveillance efforts targeting Bitcoin users and enhance Bitcoin's fungibility.The recent shutdown of a UK Bitcoin exchange due to new regulations highlights the urgency of increasing PayJoin adoption. The exchange owner emphasized that using marketplaces instead of exchanges and engaging in Coinjoin activities are viewed as high-risk behaviors. As risk scores increase, users may encounter difficulties depositing funds, supplying documents, or even losing their coins without understanding the reasons.To prevent Bitcoin from becoming a permissioned money system akin to traditional bank accounts, greater efforts must be made to promote PayJoin adoption. Craig, a participant in the bitcoin-dev mailing list, proposed eliminating the need for a server endpoint on the receiving side to facilitate easier PayJoin transactions between wallets. This approach would require a different mechanism to exchange payment information but would not require any specification amendments.Increasing the visibility of PayJoin and integrating it into popular software like BTCPayServer could greatly contribute to its adoption. By making PayJoin the default option, users would be able to enjoy the privacy benefits without any extra steps or inconveniences. Ultimately, widespread adoption of PayJoin is essential to fulfill Bitcoin's vision of being permissionless money for the internet.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T03:02:31.999204+00:00