Ethereum’s transparency is a strength but also a privacy risk. New proposals for stealth addresses promise to enhance transaction privacy.
What are stealth addresses?
A stealth address is a unique, one-time address used to conceal the recipient’s true identity. It links to the recipient’s public key, directing the transaction there instead of to the public address. This prevents third parties from linking the stealth address to the original wallet.
Ethereum’s approach: ERC-5564 and ERC-6358
Ethereum has proposed ERC-5564 and ERC-6358 to support stealth addresses. ERC-5564 introduces an advanced stealth address system for more effective privacy, while ERC-6358 acts as a registry to facilitate easier registration of stealth meta-addresses.
Benefits and downsides of stealth addresses
Stealth addresses offer better transaction privacy but have downsides like centralization risks and transaction fee challenges.
Stealth addresses are crucial for enhancing privacy on Ethereum. However, challenges like centralization risks and transaction fee limitations must be resolved for adoption.
