# A Shielded Bitcoin Proposal Claims Zero-Knowledge Privacy Without a Soft Fork

Misha Komarov's design would hide transaction detail using Bitcoin PIPEs while leaving consensus unchanged, as Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson predicts his Midnight network will overtake Zcash.

- Published: 2026-10-01T05:49:51.228Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/crypto/2026-10-01/a-shielded-bitcoin-proposal-claims-zero-knowledge-privacy-wi
- Publisher: Polylog (Crypto desk)
- Section: crypto
- Sources: [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/videos/bitcoin-privacy-breakthrough-a-zcash-killer-misha-komorov-alloc-innit), [crypto.news](https://crypto.news/midnight-price-targets-june-resistance-after-17-surge/)

Misha Komarov, the researcher behind the Alloc Innit effort, described a protocol he calls Shielded Bitcoin, which would use zero-knowledge proofs and a construction he calls Bitcoin PIPEs to conceal transaction details without requiring a…

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