Amber Baldet: Blockchain Alone Isn't A Privacy Cure-All

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.

"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."

Baldet

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.