Bitcoin Network Approves Privacy Update as Scrutiny Increases

Bitcoin is gaining more privacy features as concern increases over the use of the cryptocurrency during a recent spate of ransomware attacks.

The most significant update in four years to the computer software that underpins the world’s largest digital token was approved this past weekend with little fanfare. In past years, fights among the groups known as miners who run the network were characterized as a civil war and led to offshoots such as Bitcoin Cash.

While the main advance makes the network easier to use for certain big embedded applications called smart contracts, the so-called Taproot update could ...