Bitcoin developer Ben Allen received a $100K grant from Maelstrom to advance Payjoin.
Payjoin improves Bitcoin privacy using collaborative transactions.
Widespread wallet adoption will determine the tool’s success.
Bitcoin developer Ben Allen has been awarded a $100,000 grant by investment firm Maelstrom to support the continued development of Payjoin, a privacy-enhancing transaction tool designed to make Bitcoin (BTC) usage more secure and efficient.
Announced on May 20, the grant will allow Allen and developer Dan Gould to accelerate their work on the Payjoin development kit (devkit). The funding aims to make Bitcoin more private and scalable by encouraging wallet providers and users to implement this advanced transaction method.
How Payjoin Improves Bitcoin Privacy and Efficiency
Payjoin, also known as P2EP (Pay-to-EndPoint), is a Bitcoin transaction type that involves both the sender and receiver participating in the construction of the transaction. Unlike regular transactions, where inputs only come from the sender, Payjoin mixes in inputs from the receiver as well, making it significantly harder for blockchain analysts to trace funds.
This batched structure adds a level of obfuscation that helps preserve user privacy without requiring major changes to Bitcoin’s protocol. Additionally, by using more efficient transaction packing, it can also reduce blockchain bloat, enhancing scalability.
Interestingly, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has noted that “Payjoin adoption improves the privacy of even the people who don’t use it.” That is, widespread adoption creates network-level benefits, as it complicates chain analysis for everyone involved.
Developer Efforts and Wallet Integration Goals
In comments shared with Cointelegraph, Allen said he is building out performance benchmarks to make it easier for wallet developers to adopt the tool. He is also working on expanding test coverage, ensuring code consistency and reproducibility key for building trust among Bitcoin developers and users alike.
“The biggest step we can take,” Allen emphasized, “is simplifying the experience and moving complexities away from the user.”
The Maelstrom team echoed that sentiment. A representative noted that one of the most critical success metrics will be integration into popular open-source Bitcoin wallets. They went as far as to say that if Bitcoin Core, the reference implementation for Bitcoin, adopts Payjoin, it would mark a major milestone for the tool’s credibility and adoption.
Broader Implications for Bitcoin’s Future
As regulatory scrutiny around crypto grows and blockchain analytics become more sophisticated, tools like Payjoin are expected to play a larger role in preserving user privacy and autonomy. The grant from Maelstrom demonstrates increasing investor interest in privacy infrastructure, a space traditionally underfunded compared to other crypto innovations.
The move also aligns with a broader industry trend toward enhancing the usability of Bitcoin privacy tools to ensure they are accessible, intuitive, and robust.

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