Vitalik Buterin shares his plan to secure Ethereum with Tor network technology

Vitalik Buterin announced the integration of Tor technology into Ethereum to protect the privacy of users and nodes by hiding IP addresses and connection patterns.

Privacy in the cryptocurrency ecosystem has historically been an incomplete puzzle. While much of the development effort has focused on anonymizing what happens within the blockchain, how users access it has remained exposed. 

This vulnerability was the central focus of the recent intervention by Vitalik Buterin during the event Devconnect in Argentinawhere the Ethereum co-founder presented a technical roadmap aimed at integrating Tor network tools directly into the Ethereum ecosystem infrastructure.

In a presentation shared with Robert DingledineButerin, founder of the Tor Project, outlined a paradigm shift for the Ethereum Foundation. During the event, he emphasized that privacy cannot rely solely on advanced cryptographic solutions such as those found in the Tor project. zero-knowledge tests (ZK-proofs) If the underlying connection remains an open book. By using a digital wallet or interacting with a decentralized application, users leave a digital trail, specifically their IP address, which allows third parties to reconstruct financial histories and link physical identities to digital accounts.

To mitigate this risk, Ethereum plans to adopt the principles of "Onion Services" o "onion services"In technical terms, this architecture It allows data traffic to travel through an overlay network of volunteer nodes, encrypting information in multiple layers, similar to the layers of an onion.

By bouncing the connection between an input node, an intermediate node, and an output node, the system ensures that no single point in the network knows both the origin and destination of the data. Integrating these services into Ethereum would allow wallets and nodes to communicate without revealing their geographic location or usage patterns.

Redefining the architecture of privacy at the network layer

The detailed technical proposal presented in Buenos Aires addresses specific vulnerabilities in the current operation of Ethereum. The most critical point lies in the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) nodesWhen a user checks their balance or sends a transaction from a standard wallet, this request is sent to an RPC node. Without proper protection, this node has full visibility into the queries made and the IP address from which they originate, making it easy to create detailed user profiles. Implementing Tor-like routing would prevent these infrastructure providers from associating queries with a specific individual.

Beyond end-user protection, the Ethereum Foundation and research groups such as Web3 Privacy Now They are exploring the incorporation of security mechanisms for network validators. Among the innovations discussed, the Secret Single Leader Election (SSLE) stands out. Under the current model, it is possible to know in advance which validator will propose the next block, opening the door to targeted distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. With SSLE, the proposer's identity remains hidden until the exact moment the block is published, protecting the operational integrity of the network.

In parallel, the use of "Mixnets" or mixing networks is being considered. This technology works by grouping and shuffling messages and transactions before they are processed, adding an extra layer of obfuscation. In this way, even if a malicious actor were monitoring the network in real time, it would be mathematically difficult for them to trace a specific transaction from its origin on the user's device to its inclusion on the blockchain.

Resistance to censorship and improvement in user experience

The scope of this technological integration also has direct implications for censorship resistance, a core value for the crypto community. 

During the technical session, emphasis was placed on the adoption of "pluggable transports" or pluggable transports, a tool that allows Ethereum network traffic to be disguised as conventional internet traffic, indistinguishable to state or corporate censorship filters. One example cited is the use of Snowflake, a system that camouflages blockchain activity by making it appear as a standard video call, significantly making it difficult to block without disrupting legitimate communication services.

Implementing these improvements won't fall solely on the core developers. Projects like Kohaku are already working on creating ready-to-use software packages that will allow wallets and applications to integrate these privacy features natively, without requiring complex configurations from the end user. 

In general, the goal is for network privacy to be a default and transparent feature, not an option reserved for technical experts.

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Ethereum and Tor: A key alliance for the digital privacy of the future

Although the presentation at Devconnect outlined a clear direction for the future, specific timelines for its implementation have not yet been defined. The Ethereum Foundation has acknowledged that incorporating these additional layers of anonymity will significantly increase the network's traffic and processing load. 

Therefore, to prevent this from affecting the speed and efficiency that characterize Ethereum, the Foundation is considering operating its own intermediate nodes, known as relays, which will help strengthen the network and maintain its performance, even with these new security measures.

The collaboration between core Ethereum developers and veteran Tor network experts reflects a significant evolution in the understanding of digital privacy. It has been concluded that financial cryptography alone is insufficient, and that securing the data transport layer is equally crucial. Therefore, this collaboration aims to create an ecosystem where user sovereignty and security are respected from the moment they connect until their transaction is recorded on the distributed ledger.

All of this shows how Ethereum is not only advancing in technological terms, but also in the comprehensive protection of its users, consolidating a model that prioritizes privacy without sacrificing functionality or speed.