It seems that the current ethos around blockchain and web3 is privacy, and being anon.

This honestly confuses me a bit, because I remember the *public ledger being a huge selling point back in 2017. I know sentiment was mixed even then, but this narrative seems to have evaporated.

What changed with the space?

Community Manager | @aothecomputer CM | Previous Engineer @ Intel

I don't think the "public ledger" was ever about everyone's actions being public? As far as I can tell it was always about

(i) the system of rules being transparent, so "the fed" can't inflate
(ii) the ability to prove individual actions if you want to, whether for a single payment or to make your entire org open-book

The issue I see with this, is that it isn't always a choice to publicize(or prove) your affairs if you have any kind of weight in the space, unless you follow really specific guidelines to stay hidden. People can connect the dots, and figure things out because it's designed that way.