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The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), Fedi and Cornell University are launching a two‑year study on how Americans view financial privacy, the trade‑offs they will accept and how regulation shapes their behavior.&nbsp;
The initiative brings together a Bitcoin (<a href="/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer">BTC</a>) wallet company with an academic center and a policy think tank, aiming to connect how privacy tools are built, researched and ultimately governed.
According to Fedi and BPI, the research will <a href="https://www.fedi.xyz/blog/fedi-cornell-university-and-bitcoin-policy-institute-to-deliver-integrated-study-on-american-attitudes-regarding-privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">combine</a> quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to examine attitudes toward financial privacy and their evolution.&nbsp;
Cornell’s Brooks School Tech Policy Institute is joining as the academic partner, while Fedi brings product and user behavior insights and BPI focuses on policy and communications.
The two-year project will pay particular attention to how Americans think about privacy in everyday transactions and their trust in institutions, with four semi‑annual reports, the first released in April 2026, aimed at bringing empirical evidence into policy debates and the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-industry-urges-senate-developer-protections-market-structure-bill" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">regulatory climate facing developers</a>.
<figure>
 <img alt="Cryptocurrencies, Study, Privacy, Developers, CBDC, DeFi, Policy" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019be4bb-2574-7e16-933d-58a80f68a6e9.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Two-year privacy study. Source: <a href="https://x.com/bitcoinpolicy/status/2014000260683558928" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Bitcoin Policy Institute</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<h2 id="rising-concern-over-data-use">Rising concern over data use</h2>
Public concern about data collection is on the rise. A 2023 Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/10/18/how-americans-view-data-privacy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">survey</a> found that 71% of US adults were very or somewhat concerned about how the government used the data it collected about them, up from 64% in 2019. About two‑thirds said they understood little or nothing about what companies did with their personal data.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-urges-sec-see-good-in-blockchain-privacy-tools" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">Crypto urges SEC to see the good in blockchain privacy tools</a>
At the same time, governments around the world are <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-euro-cbdc-symbol-trust-common-destiny-ecb" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">exploring initiatives</a> such as <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-is-a-cbdc-why-central-banks-want-to-get-into-digital-currencies" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)</a> and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-decentralized-identity-in-blockchain" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">digital identity frameworks</a> that could expand official visibility into payments and online activity, feeding a <a href="https://www.techpolicy.press/lessons-from-national-digital-id-systems-for-privacy-security-and-trust-in-the-ai-age/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">broader debate</a> over whether financial privacy should be preserved, redesigned or constrained in the digital era.
<h2 id="developer-climate-and-privacy-tools">Developer climate and privacy tools</h2>
In crypto, the policy climate for open‑source and privacy‑enhancing tools has grown harsher.
US authorities brought criminal cases against developers of non‑custodial services such as Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash, alleging they <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/samourai-sentences-cement-doj-money-transmitter-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">operated unlicensed money‑transmitting businesses</a> and helped <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/certik-traces-tornado-cash-funds-jan-10-crypto-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">move illicit funds</a> through their software.
In both cases, developers have faced criminal charges, convictions in related proceedings, or ongoing legal liability.
The cases have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/practical-law-the-journal/litigation/tornado-cash-verdict-developer-liability-implications-2025-11-01/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">raised fears</a> that simply publishing or maintaining privacy‑focused code could be treated as a crime, even when developers do not directly control user funds.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/samourai-sentences-cement-doj-money-transmitter-theory" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">After Samourai, DOJ’s money-transmitter theory now looms over crypto mixers</a>
<h2 id="market-structure-bill-and-defi-developers">Market structure bill and DeFi developers</h2>
In Washington, the ongoing <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/clarity-act-explained-what-it-means-for-crypto-week-and-beyond" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">crypto market structure bill</a> has emerged as a key battleground over the future of developers and <a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&amp;&amp;p=cb28e99f07b3195ab57ce68d2bba558d6952a59b915f06f01d003bc96634915bJmltdHM9MTc2OTA0MDAwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=0b2deb1f-9978-6737-08e0-fdda981f6632&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS9sZWFybi9hcnRpY2xlcy9kZWZpLWEtY29tcHJlaGVuc2l2ZS1ndWlkZS10by1kZWNlbnRyYWxpemVkLWZpbmFuY2U" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">decentralized finance (DeFi)</a>.
Industry organizations, including the DeFi Education Fund, have <a href="https://www.defieducationfund.org/def-110-partners-submit-coalition-letter-on-developer-protections-in-market-structure/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">urged</a> lawmakers to provide “robust, nationwide protections” for software developers and non‑custodial infrastructure, warning that vague obligations could push builders offshore or force them into traditional financial‑intermediary roles.
Variant chief legal officer Jake Chervinsky <a href="https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/2014001449412239369" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">framed</a> DeFi as his “red line” in the market structure debate, arguing that the bill must protect DeFi developers and warning that, without clear safeguards, a future regulator could still try to “kill DeFi” in the United States.
Cointelegraph contacted the Bitcoin Policy Institute for additional comment, but had not received a response by publication time.
Magazine:<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2026-pragmatic-privacy-crypto-canton-zcash-ethereum-foundation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more</a>

Bitcoin Policy Institute, Fedi, Cornell to study American views on financial privacy

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