$INIT $BTC In a major step for Bitcoin privacy, developer Ben Allen has been awarded a grant of $100,000 from the investment firm Maelstrom to advance the Payjoin protocol, a tool designed to enhance the scalability and privacy of Bitcoin transactions. The announcement made on May 20 highlights Maelstrom's commitment to supporting innovative projects in the crypto space. Originally proposed by Nicolas Dorier in 2019 through Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 78, Payjoin allows senders and receivers to provide inputs to a transaction. This collaborative approach not only supports privacy but also facilitates better consolidation of transaction outputs, a key factor for scalability. As noted by Maelstrom, "enhancing financial privacy in Bitcoin is crucial," with Payjoin's potential to disrupt the assumptions of financial surveillance entities. Allen will work alongside Dan Gould to refine the Payjoin implementation, aiming to integrate the feature into more wallets. He stated that the grant would allow him to dedicate his full attention to the project, which he believes is essential for users to maintain control over their financial data. Although the Payjoin system presents certain challenges—such as requiring the receiver to be online and the complexity of payment communication—the potential benefits are clear. As highlighted by Maelstrom's head of investments, Arthur Hayes, even simple adoption of Payjoin could significantly enhance privacy for all Bitcoin users, not just those actively using the tool. With Maelstrom's non-interventionist approach to grant management, its focus remains on developing innovations in Bitcoin privacy. As the landscape evolves, the success of Payjoin may depend on its adoption by popular open-source wallets, with BitcoinCore wallet as a key indicator of its impact. As we observe this space, one thing is certain #Square