Share this article
Amber Baldet: Blockchain Alone Isn't A Privacy Cure-All
Amber Baldet argued that the blockchain is not a solution for privacy protection in a Monday speech.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:51 a.m. Published Apr 23, 2018, 5:35 p.m.
Blockchain "maximalism" will not solve internet privacy concerns, Amber Baldet said on Monday.
The former JPMorgan blockchain lead made the comments during a talk on the "Internet of Value" and delivered to MIT Technology Review's Business of Blockchain conference.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
"The maximalism that we have to do everything in a decentralized way is a bit of a fallacy," she said, going on to explain:
"If you want private, secure communications, [you should] almost never use a blockchain. You want something that is ephemeral, not immutable."
instead suggested that hybrid disclosing networks could offer a better solution. Likewise, she claimed that the blockchain is not a privacy solution, but rather "fundamentally an information security product."
Her speech highlighted the wide variety of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies and emphasized that there is no single correct approach among the various versions. She also commented that "given the trade-off between privacy and convenience, people have always chosen convenience."
Baldet, who oversaw the development of JPMorgan's permissioned blockchain, Quorum, left the Wall Street bank earlier this month to start her own venture. She has not yet revealed any further details on her plans.
Amber Baldet image via YouTube
Correction: The headline of this article has been updated to better reflect the intent of Amber Baldet's remarks. CoinDesk regrets the earlier headline. Further, this report has been updated to correct the name of MIT Technology Review's Business of Blockchain event.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin Treads Water Near $90K as Bitfinex Warns of 'Fragile Setup' to Shocks
BTC's relative weakness compared to stocks points to tepid spot demand, making the largest crypto vulnerable to macro volatility, Bitfinex analysts said.
What to know:
- Bitcoin erased very modest overnight gains early Monday and spent the rest of the U.S. session in a tight range around the $90,000 level.
- Rising long bond yields and a small U.S. equities pulling back weighed on risk appetite as traders eye this week's Federal Reserve meeting.
- Bitfinex analysts pointed out bitcoin's relative weakness against U.S. stocks amid modest spot demand and structural softness.
Top Stories
