In this since 2010. Almost seen it all. Some realisations take time.
There are next steps, but I see none of it getting accomplished by Bitcoin.
We need open source hardware
We need alternative ways to enter the internet (mesh)
We need anonymisaton of traffic (i2p)
We need private communication (SimpleX)
We need private transction networks (Monero)
We need decentralise public communication (Nostr)
Bitcoin with its KYC demands is not helping.
99/100 new Bitcoiners enter via KYC.
80/100 use custodians.
Meaning with ongoung Bitcoin adoption current visible problems only will get worse.
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I noticed that you mentioned I2P and not Tor. Personally I believe that Tor has fundamental advantages over I2P. I believe that one of the greatest advantages of Tor is how much choice it gives to the people who participate in the network. Someone can use Tor without relaying other people's traffic, and node operators can opt in or out of being an exit node, even picking and choosing what kind of traffic and clearnet destinations one will allow the user to visit through you.
Not every user has the same values or OpSec. Some people live in countries where running a Tor node is illegal, even if they can't know what encrypted traffic they are relaying. I believe that I2P's choice to have everyone relay other people's traffic is a big problem.
Also, the small number of relays that allow for browsing the clearnet is a problem.
What do you think?
I think it depends on your usecase. Tor is normie tech. My whole family runs it in the background.
It's good. But if you are not using onion addresses it is compromised. You need to exclude spy nodes from Germany and Netherlands that make up >50% of the network and unfortunately they provide the highest speed.
Use it as much as you can. Ask people to provide you with onion addresses!
Then people in opppresive regimes should look into v2ray.
And in general I'd recommend a VPN on your router to separate ISP from your Tor usage patterns.
Finally you could even use i2p on top of Tor. It has less shortcomings and it's only issue are low speeds because usage is still low, but it's preferable if you want higher degrees of anonymity.