Why the future of the internet depends on owning your data and why today’s systems are already failing
What if your identity didn’t belong to Big Tech… or even the government?
What if it actually belonged to you?
In this episode of
The Privacy Podcast, host
Ben Schiller talks with
Wayne Chang, Founder of Spruce ID, to explore one of the most overlooked problems in tech today: identity.
From logging into websites to accessing healthcare, our digital identities are fragmented, insecure, and often completely out of our control. Chang breaks down how we got here and why the current system, built on emails, passwords, and centralized platforms, is fundamentally broken.
“We want users to control their data flows like a water faucet… under their control.”
From “Sign-In with Ethereum” to government-backed digital credentials, this conversation explores a future where identity is portable, private, and owned by the individual.
Why This Matters
Right now, your identity lives everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
It’s stored in silos across platforms, vulnerable to breaches, and increasingly easy to fake in an era of AI-generated everything.
And the cracks are starting to show.
Chang points to a near-future where identity fraud becomes scalable, cheap, and nearly impossible to detect using today’s systems.
“We’re going to reach a precipice moment where attacks get cheap enough to execute at scale.”
The result? A complete breakdown of trust online.
But there’s another path forward, one built on cryptography, decentralization, and user control.
What We Cover
- Why today’s identity systems are a “patchwork” and fundamentally insecure
- How AI and deepfakes are exposing major flaws in digital verification
- The origin and impact of Sign-In with Ethereum
- What digital credentials actually are and why they matter
- Why governments, healthcare, and finance are key to fixing identity
- The Utah model and a new policy-first approach to digital ID
- Why identity should be human-centric, not platform-centric
- The role of decentralized protocols in rebuilding trust online
- How identity unlocks real-world blockchain use cases
The Bottom Line
The internet made it easy to connect. It did not make it safe to trust.
Wayne Chang is building toward a future where identity is no longer something you hand over, but something you control.
Because in the next phase of the internet, the most important question won’t be what platform you use…
It will be who you are and whether you can prove it.
🔗 About the 👤 Guest
About the Show
The Privacy Podcast by Miden explores the intersection of privacy, identity, and emerging technologies. Hosted by Ben Schiller, the show brings together builders, regulators, and thinkers shaping what comes next in a world where data is power.
Executive Producer Michele Musso
Edited by the
Musso Media Team
Music: licensed.
All rights reserved. ©2026 Musso Media
What is Privacy Podcast?
The Privacy Podcast by Miden explores the future of privacy, identity, and trust in a digital world being reshaped by blockchain and AI.
Hosted by Ben Schiller, The Privacy Podcast dives into one of the most critical questions facing technology today: How do we build a more private, secure, and trustworthy internet?
A former journalist with over a decade of experience covering crypto and emerging technologies, including six years at CoinDesk, Schiller brings a sharp editorial lens to conversations at the intersection of privacy, blockchain, and digital rights.
At its core, this podcast is driven by a simple idea: privacy is not optional. It is foundational to the next phase of the internet.
As blockchain technology moves from experimentation to real-world adoption, privacy becomes essential for onboarding institutions, enabling enterprise use cases, and unlocking the full potential of decentralized systems. At the same time, it addresses a deeper, long-standing issue. The modern internet was built without effective privacy infrastructure, giving rise to what is often described as a surveillance-based economy, where personal data is exchanged for access to services.
This show explores how that model is changing.
Produced by Musso Media, The Privacy Podcast features conversations with leading builders, researchers, policymakers, and thinkers shaping what comes next.