Privacy Is Blockchain’s Missing Link—and America’s Opportunity to Lead

Privacy And Fungibility: The Forgotten Virtues Of Sound Money

By Michael S. Milano, Mises Wire | July 05, 2025 Long before the Blockchain Era, a landmark Scottish lawsuit posed a question that still echoes today: Can money carry memory — or must it forget? In 1748, Hew Crawfurd—a lawyer in Edinburgh — signed and recorded the serial numbers of two £20 notes before mailing them to a merchant in Glasgow. When the letter failed to arrive, Crawfurd notified the bank and publicized the theft. Months later, one n…

Privacy is blockchain’s missing link—and America’s opportunity to lead

In my last job, I was fortunate to join Circle as one of the earliest employees. And as blockchain technologies evolved over recent years, edging closer to mainstream adoption, I noticed a deep contradiction has emerged. The transparency that defines public blockchains—the very feature designed to build trust—has become their Achilles’ heel. Every transaction on-chain is etched into a public ledger for all to see. This means that user addresses,…