Inside the race to rebuild blockchain before transparency becomes a liability.
Crypto was supposed to protect users. Instead, it may have accidentally exposed them.
In this episode of
The Privacy Podcast, host Ben Schiller sits down with
Azeem Khan and
Bobbin Threadbare, co-founders of Miden, to unpack a hard truth: most blockchains today are not private, and that’s a massive problem.
What many users believe is anonymous is anything but. And as AI rapidly advances, the illusion of privacy is collapsing even faster.
“In the next two years… you type in someone’s address and get their full history.”
This conversation explores why privacy isn’t just a feature upgrade, it’s a requirement for survival and how Miden is building a new generation of blockchain designed to fix it.
Why This Matters
Right now, every transaction on most blockchains is permanently visible. That means your salary, your spending habits, your assets, all exposed. And the consequences are already showing up. From targeted attacks to real-world safety risks, transparency at this level isn’t empowering, it’s dangerous.
“Transparent blockchains are almost perfect surveillance tools.”
Azeem and Bobbin make it clear: if privacy solutions don’t scale quickly, the industry risks undermining its own foundation.
What We Cover
- Why most blockchains today are fundamentally not private
- How AI is accelerating the collapse of pseudo-anonymity
- The real-world risks of exposing financial data on-chain
- What makes Miden a third-generation blockchain
- How zero-knowledge proofs unlock privacy + scalability
- Why computation is moving client-side instead of on-chain
- The trade-offs between decentralization, privacy, and security
- Why launching centralized first may actually be safer
- The future of blockchain: from finance to healthcare and beyond
Privacy is existential for crypto, and without it, adoption will stall or potentially fail. What many consider anonymity today is largely an illusion, as AI is rapidly making deanonymization cheap and nearly instantaneous. At the same time, full transparency introduces real risks, exposing users to surveillance and even physical harm. Zero-knowledge technology offers a path forward by enabling privacy without sacrificing trust, and the next generation of blockchains is already being built with these principles at its core.
The Bottom Line
Crypto promised a better system. But without privacy, it may recreate something worse.
Azeem and Bobbin aren’t just building another blockchain, they’re building infrastructure for a future where users don’t have to choose between transparency and safety.
Because the next phase of this industry won’t be defined by speed or scale…
It will be defined by whether users can exist without being exposed.
🔗 About the 👤 Guest
Azeem Khan
- LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/azeemkhan - X (Twitter):
https://x.com/azeemkhan
Bobbin Threadbare
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.