Fedi, Cornell and Bitcoin Think Tank Launch US Financial Privacy Study
The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), the Fed, and Cornell University are conducting a two-year study of how Americans view financial privacy, the tradeoffs they accept, and how the regulation shapes their behavior.
The initiative connects the Bitcoin (BTC) wallet company to an academic center and policy think tank, with the goal of connecting how privacy tools are developed, researched, and ultimately managed.
According to Fedi and BPI, the study combines quantitative studies with qualitative interviews to examine attitudes towards financial privacy and evolution.
Cornell Brooks School's Tech Policy Institute is joining as an academic partner, while Fed brings insights into product and consumer behavior and BPI focuses on policy and communications.
The two-year project will focus specifically on how Americans think about privacy in everyday transactions and their trust in institutions, with four semi-annual reports, the first of which will be released in April 2026, aimed at bringing concrete evidence into the climate of policy debates and regulation faced by developers.
Concerns about data usage are increasing.
Public concern over data collection is increasing. In the year A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 71% of American adults are very or somewhat concerned about how the government uses the information it collects about them, up from 64% in 2019. Two-thirds said they had little or no understanding of what companies did with their personal data.
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At the same time, governments around the world are exploring initiatives such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and digital identity frameworks that extend public visibility into payments and online activity, feeding a wider debate over whether financial privacy should be protected, regulated or limited in the digital age.
Developer climate and privacy tools
The policy climate for open source and privacy-enhancing tools in crypto has worsened.
US authorities have filed criminal charges against the developers of non-custodial services such as Zamora Wallet and Tornado Cash, alleging that they run unlicensed money transfer businesses and help move illegal funds with their software.
In both cases, developers faced criminal charges, convictions in related proceedings, or ongoing legal liability.
The cases raised concerns that simply publishing or maintaining privacy-focused code could be considered a crime, even if developers don't directly control users' funds.
Related: After Samurai, DOJ's money transmitter theory is now looming over crypto mixers.
Market structure account and DeFi developers
In Washington, the ongoing crypto market structure bill has emerged as a key battleground for developers and the future of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Industry organizations, including the Diffie Education Fund, have urged lawmakers to provide “stronger, nationwide protections” for software developers and non-custodial infrastructure, warning that unclear obligations could push developers offshore or force them into traditional financial-broker roles.
Variable Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky has framed DeFi as a “red line” in the market structure debate, arguing that the bill should protect DeFi developers and that without clear safeguards, a future regulator could still try to “kill DeFi” in the United States.
Cointelegraph contacted the Bitcoin Policy Institute for further comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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