Confidentiality Matters Pt II - Interview with a Janitor

We talked to a privacy tech developer about why it's so important

Digital surveillance casts a long shadow over our financial transactions; the need for privacy has never been more urgent. In Part I of Confidentiality Matters, we unpacked the escalating need for financial privacy amid digital surveillance’s relentless creep. Mutual aid groups, activist networks, and everyday users face unprecedented exposure, as detailed in Financial Confidentiality in the Age of Digital Surveillance.

Now, in Part II, we sit with Alan, a self-described “Janitor” for RAILGUN, a privacy protocol protecting transactions on Ethereum and other smart-contract platforms. Through Alan’s lens, we explore why privacy isn’t optional, how RAILGUN delivers it, and where DeFi’s future might lead.

Alan’s Journey: From Curiosity to Cypherpunk

Unlike the stereotypical image of a manifesto-wielding privacy preacher, Alan’s entry into DeFi was refreshingly accidental. “I wish it was a ‘cool cypherpunk ideals’ that got me where I am today but it was mostly happenstance,” he admits. Introduced by friends—some trading on centralized exchanges, others evangelizing Bitcoin—Alan’s journey began with casual experiments via MoonPay, progressed to self-custody wallets, and landed him in token-gated Telegram chats discussing DeFi strategies and theories. This organic path grounds his work in relatability, making the motivation behind RAILGUN feel less like dogma and more like a practical response to a broken system.

But Alan was a punk long before working on RAILGUN. A fan of early 2000s punk bands like Thursday and Poison the Well, alongside alt-rockers like Alice in Chains, he sees some parallel between punk’s anti-establishment ethos and cypherpunk’s push for privacy. “I suppose the overlap is in the general perception of rebellious and anti-establishment nature of both movements,” he reflects.

Listen to hardcore

RAILGUN Unloaded: Privacy as an Incognito Wallet

Useful definitions

Blockchain: A digital ledger that records all transactions in a cryptocurrency network, like a public spreadsheet.

Cryptocurrency: Digital money that operates on a blockchain, like Bitcoin or ETH. Bitcoin (BTC), ETH, and stablecoins are examples of cryptocurrencies users can manage privately with wallets like RAILGUN.

DeFi (Decentralized Finance): Financial services, like lending or trading, that run on blockchains without traditional banks or middlemen. RAILGUN lets users participate in DeFi (e.g., swapping or staking) while keeping their actions private.

ETH (Ethereum): A popular cryptocurrency and the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain, used for transactions and DeFi activities.

Stablecoins: Cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable value, often tied to a currency like the U.S. dollar (e.g., USDC).

Staking: Locking up cryptocurrency in a DeFi platform to earn rewards, similar to earning interest in a savings account. RAILGUN allows users to stake assets anonymously.

Swapping: Trading one cryptocurrency for another directly on a DeFi platform, like exchanging ETH for a stablecoin. RAILGUN enables users to swap assets without revealing their identity.

Tokens: Digital assets on a blockchain, often representing value or access to a service.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): A cryptographic technique that proves a transaction is valid without sharing any details about it, like proving you paid a bill without showing the amount. RAILGUN uses ZKPs to keep transactions private.

At its core, RAILGUN is a privacy shield for DeFi. Alan distills its complexity into a simple analogy: “The easiest way to understand RAILGUN is to just think of it as an incognito wallet.” Users deposit assets—say, ETH or stablecoins—into a private “0zk” address, powered by zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), a cryptographic method that verifies transactions without revealing details. From there, users can swap, lend, or stake assets anonymously across DeFi platforms, all while maintaining their financial secrecy. For the user, it’s seamless; beneath the hood, it’s a feat of cutting-edge cryptography.

This privacy isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessity. Alan points to public blockchain auctions, like Constitution DAO’s failed 2021 bid to buy a U.S. Constitution copy, where transparent bids invited manipulation. “Naturally what crypto-natives do is, once they send each other tokens, they proceed straight to [blockchain data website] etherscan.com to judge and spy on their counterparty,” he says, dubbing it “financial voyeurism.” In traditional finance, cash transactions hide your spending, and credit card statements shield your history. Crypto’s default transparency, Alan argues, isn’t freedom—it’s a design flaw RAILGUN corrects.

Who Needs Privacy? Everyone, but Especially the Vulnerable

RAILGUN’s promise extends to a broad audience, from casual traders to high-stakes activists. “Everyone,” Alan declares, benefits from financial privacy. For traders, it prevents front-running or doxxing via public wallet addresses. For peer-to-peer payments, it restores the anonymity of cash. But the stakes are highest for activists and marginalized groups. “Better user data protections and controls means a lot for these communities, especially if they’re targets of surveillance and/or spying,” he notes.

Consider a bail fund in a repressive regime, funneling donations to free jailed protesters. Public blockchains expose donors to state retaliation; RAILGUN’s shielded transactions cut that risk. Similarly, harm reduction groups could protect donors funding controversial but lifesaving work, like needle exchanges. By bypassing monitored bank accounts, RAILGUN offers autonomy where traditional systems falter. Yet, adoption among activists remains nascent—high gas fees, technical complexity, and lack of awareness pose barriers. Alan’s optimism is compelling, but real-world case studies or adoption metrics that would strengthen the case are still yet to be collected.

Navigating the Regulatory Minefield

Privacy tools often face scrutiny as enablers of illicit activity, a charge Alan firmly rejects. “Privacy in finance is the normal state of affairs,” he insists, pointing to cash, Venmo, or wire transfers, none of which expose your financial soul. RAILGUN’s Private Proofs of Innocence (PPOI), for example, tackle compliance head-on, cryptographically verifying that incoming tokens aren’t tied to blacklisted addresses while preserving user anonymity. “Privacy is required for many things in many jurisdictions,” Alan says, framing PPOI as a bridge between regulatory demands and user rights.

Still, PPOI isn’t foolproof. Its effectiveness depends on curated blacklists, and governments could escalate demands for invasive KYC (Know Your Customer) checks. Critics argue privacy protocols like RAILGUN could be exploited for money laundering or tax evasion, a concern Alan counters by emphasizing legitimate use cases.

Educating the Masses: Demystifying Privacy

RAILGUN’s success hinges on adoption, which requires education. “The best way to convey the importance of privacy is to just demystify it and not hold it out to be some scary thing,” Alan says. RAILGUN’s community thrives on Discord and Telegram, where memes, support, and SDK discussions create a welcoming vibe. The project’s website, docs.railgun.org, offers tutorials and developer resources, while events and talks aim to broaden reach. But does this penetrate beyond crypto’s echo chamber? For non-technical users, especially activists, the leap from curiosity to mastery remains daunting.

Author’s Note: Noise Protocol was created to help put tools like RAILGUN into the hands of people who could benefit from them the most - people in marginalized communities (via activism and the underground) who disproportionately face the negative effects of digital surveillance.

Alan advocates starting small: “Be mindful of data collection, read privacy policies, avoid cookies, be cautious with your personal information on social media, and consider using a vpn.” These pragmatic steps bridge the gap to advanced tools like RAILGUN. Yet, the article’s punk analogy suggests untapped potential. Punk’s DIY ethos—zines, squats, grassroots networks—could inspire crypto adoption in subcultures. Imagine activist workshops teaching wallet setup or zine-style guides to DeFi privacy. These ideas need fleshing out, but they hint at a path to broader impact.

From Confidentiality Matters Part I: Example Personal Privacy Stack

Privacy-focused advocacy group Web3 Privacy Now shared an example personal privacy tech stack on social media that balances everyday convenience with robust security. It combines well-known open-source tools, privacy-oriented services, and hardware/software choices designed to minimize digital footprints:

Example of a privacy-focused personal tech stack, from Web3 Privacy Now.

The Bigger Picture: Privacy as a Right

RAILGUN’s purpose transcends technology. “If history teaches us anything,” Alan reflects, “it’s that almost every societal value we take as ‘obviously true’ in liberal democracies today… was once deemed eccentric and a threat to the powers that be.” Privacy, like suffrage or free speech, was once radical. Today, it’s under siege, eroded by surveillance largely in service of feeding the global capitalist machine. RAILGUN arms users to reclaim it, not as a perk but as a fundamental right.

Typical banger post from Neeraj

For activists, it’s a lifeline; for traders, a shield; for the curious, a gateway to autonomy. Challenges remain—cost, complexity, regulation–but there are individuals like those building RAILGUN working to lower the barriers to entry. With a blend of cutting-edge tech and a dash of punk’s rebellious spirit, RAILGUN invites us to imagine digital finance not as a system of exposure but as a space of empowerment.

Explore RAILGUN at railgun.org, join the conversation on Discord, or take Alan’s advice: start small, stay curious, and demand your right to confidentiality. When the world watches your every move, privacy is a fight worth winning.

Further Reading

Want to learn more about crypto, decentralized tech, and why they matter? Check out these posts or reach out in the comments.