US Government is trying to force Exchanges to get Name & Address of hardware & software wallets
Next up in the You are a criminal if you use cryptocurrencies show, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Treasury put forth a bill to force Exchanges to collect name and address of all wallets being used to receive funds.
FinCEN is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking to seek public comments on a proposal to require banks and money service businesses (“MSBs”) to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions involving convertible virtual currency
You can read the bill here.
This bill has 60 days for review, but due to the holidays and the fact it was buried, there is only 12 days left to respond.
We have seen how neglectful companies are with data, just look at the recent Ledger leak. 272,000 customers private information has been leaked and is easily searched on the Internet. This leak includes full contact information of users who most likely own some amount of cryptocurrencies.
There has been numerous cases of thieves breaking into homes of known crypto users and holding them at gunpoint or worse yet just a wrench and forced to unlock their hardware wallets and transfer their Bitcoin to another wallet.
Source
After all, decentralization is all about being your own bank, but most don't even have a fraction of the security of a typical bank. There isn't much that you can't get from a person with a large enough wrench.
The Internet has gotten to the point where you are forced to use fake information for pretty much everything. Every day private information and even unencrypted passwords are leaked to the Internet from companies you know and trust. These leaks are instantly picked up by hackers and criminals and used in nefarious ways. Most of the time you don't even know about it, I do however recommend you sign up for Have I been Pwned to be alerted when your information has been leaked.
There isn't as much privacy in crypto as you would believe, there are many parties actively analyzing and data mining all transactions to identify and analyze who is using crypto. Google keeps a copy of almost all blockchain transactions in private databases, the IRS has been working on de-anonymizing Bitcoin and Ethereum, hackers spend all day coming up with new ways to spear phish (targeted phishing) people into giving up their keys.
I recommend going here to leave a comment on the proposal which will be reviewed by lawyers.
It isn't easy being your own bank.
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https://twitter.com/itsjustmarky/status/1342025035456901122
https://twitter.com/Bhattg18/status/1342025914222141441
The government naturally wants to control. This reminds me of when there were constant attempts at taking away internet freedoms and it seems that the FCC managed to be in a position that they are comfortable with (for now). It was the same here in Europe, and I think they were less successful. But there are always more attempts...
With crpytos it's just the same. I talked with a person working in the banking industry the other day and he viewed (and so did his colleagues) bitcoin and other cryptos as being part of the dark web (which no doubt they are also used there). But he didn't understand the broader meaning of crpytos or why ultimately they can bring autonomy and wealth to individuals. The whole idea of not being in control of something is a foreign concept to them and should be therefore thwarted at every level.
As long as this is the most dominant opinion at the regulatory level, we are going to have a hard time. But I don't think it's a lost cause, as change can always take place.
You're right: we can still turn the tide. It's pretty obvious that change doesn't happen by itself. So, How can we prevent hard times?
Honestly, this is probably the most terrifying development in crypto regulations since the government decided we were worth paying attention to, but it also isn't unexpected. People have been telling me for as long as I can remember that the government is developing all of this specialized software to monitor and track blockchains, which maybe they are, but it really doesn't make that much sense to me when exchanges are the obvious weak point when it comes to peacefully carrying out our business without their interference.
KYC was no surprise when it started becoming the norm with the U.S. exchanges, so people started using things like Binance, who of course got pressured into not serving U.S. customers, and at this point I think anyone heavily involved and invested into crypto understands on some level the nature of the game we're playing here in creating an alternative to the legacy monetary system.
The government derives all of its power from the ability to print money and use violence against. As long as they have a monopoly on those two abilities they have nothing to really fear from us aside from a French Revolution, but realistically that's not going to happen with the level of indoctrination people are subjected to throughout childhood.
People are going to have to get a lot smarter in how they handle their affairs or "pay the man." Perhaps even both to some extent as there's likely already enough of a data trail on most people to ever dream of not being on the radar at some level. Who knows what the future holds, but they were never going to let us successfully do this whole crypto thing without some serious resistance.
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You're right: people who rule us consider using the blockchain technology in their advantage by creating a central bank digital currency. What do you think about that?
Leave a comment on the FINCEN Site!
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Sometimes I'm glad I'm not American. What a nasty government. But then again, Canada, EU most of G7, etc. Just follow behind America, so what difference does it make?
Part of me is all about a KYC safe space for crypto. Let's call it the green zone. Every wallet is registered, etc. banks and deposits are insured and taxes...taxes glaore.
However, the clinch is, there needs to be the private opaque grey zone area and the black area, otherwise, it's gonna suck.
In anycase, the dystopia is coming, resistance is futile and it's probably best not be branded a trouble maker.
I pay all my taxes, don't really have anything to hide, follow the law to a t, so I guess I don't have so much to worry about.
The issue, that's not the only fear.
ETC scares me the most. In any case, I have a Samsung, so I'm just as screwed.
I don't think they will be asking for our encryption keys, just yet. However, that's probably the next step.
They are working to add backdoors to encryption and make encryption without them illegal.
I remain cautiously optimistic that this won't happen.
I mean look at all the crap Huawei is going through because Chinese companies must assist the CCP. Is American leadership really going to be so stupid to think they can do this to their own companies? Sadly, it's possible and maybe even probable. However, I think it's going to be difficult.
For example in Korea, one politician mentioned something about a law forcing people to provide passwords to save police time if there were arrests or whatever. She quickly apologized after some people with common sense explained this was a serious violation of the constitution (Korea has a constitution similar to America).
So I think any law which makes people provide passwords or encryption keys will face a lot of constitutional challenges even by companies.
My guess is that paying all the taxes is not enough to be worry free. What do you do when you have to be vaccinated to enter stores?
I pretty much do all my shopping online, so if they want to seal the deal, so be it.
What do you do when you have to be vaccinated to keep your job?
The only think anti-vaxxers have proved is their lack of common sense, selfishness and stupidity.
To clairfy I fully intend to get vaccinated next fall when all the vulnerable and overly concerned people get it.
I'm not worried about the 'health concerns' of vaccines. I'm also not scared of a little jabby jab.
I'm just not keen on being forced to have one to go shopping. I would obviously get one to travel, or keep my job.
I have little concern for anti-vaxxers being told to fuck off and stay out because they are afraid of the little jabby jab.
You're right: it's childish to be scared about stuff that are not dangerous?
Are you afraid of a virus that wasn't even identified?
The virus is worrisome, but you are talking about the vaccine, not the virus.
Did you know this is an RNA vaccine and doesn't contain any of the virus?
Don't change the topic. You are an anti-vaxxer aren't you?
The label you put on people is irrelevant. What matters are the facts. It's a fact that the vaccine is experimental. another one is that the company has zero liability for side effects. Do you even know what are the side effects?
Claiming that a virus is worrisome is a scientific claim that require scientific proof. What's the proof?
it's ironic that governments and certain people trying to control us in that aspect as well, while at the same time many governments and groups are investing into cryptos
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Crypto is in direct competition of the main purpose of the goverment, to take all your money.
If I earn $100, I pay ~$30 in taxes. I spend that $70 at a store, they pay $25 in taxes. They take that $55 and buy something themselves they spend $15 in taxes. Eventually the government gets it all. That's why we have to keep printing more money.
Yet another attempt by Americans to call themselves the "best" nation in the world.
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As a personal opinion, I want to say that there is no place that is safe or can't be hacked, even those big corporations that claim to be impenetrable suffer loss or leakage of information, so we can't trust anyone.
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No one rules where none obey.
This is a really concerning topic. Like the points you've raised above there isn't the same level of protection in cryptocurrancy as there is with banks. Nothing will stop someone searching for high amounts of crypto and then attending the person's property and robbing them.
In Australia there are limits to the amount of public available information about someone's money. I.e. rich elites in Australia have their assets hidden from public knowledge. Their excuse was that if people knew how much money they had, they would be at risk of abduction and extortion.
That same risk applies to the lower end, let's be honest. Crypto saw a huge boom many years ago now. A time when many of us missed out. So the majority of people aren't millionaire or billionaires. But possibly a there would be people with thousands to 100s of thousands. Even if its just investment.
Having publicly visible wallets and then personal information available makes those people a risk.
There are no safety mechanisms. If someone is robbed at an ATM there are cameras and if you enter your pin number backwards triggers an emergency response.
Nothing will stop or prevent someone from breaking into your home and forcing you to transfer your crypto.
Bad laws.
https://twitter.com/KingSofa3/status/1342554357959561216
Just discovered haveibeenpwnd thanks to antop...How easy is it to do a sim-swap? This ledger thing has me a little uneasy...
Do you mean a sim swap to change your number, or someone trying to clone it?
The first depends on your carrier, you are basically changing your number. The 2nd, is based on how well trained the carrier level 1 support are, if you can't get them to clone a sim the first time, just call back and try on another person.
Worried someone will do it to me, though not sure if its possible in Japan
You can call your carrier and ask for additional security for activities related to your sim, each carrier handles this differently, just call them and tell them you want to add additional protections to your account.
You can also setup a pin code for most carriers that requires you to know this code to do anything with the carrier.
In the end, the best thing you can do is to avoid any form of SMS second factor authentication for anything serious. Any time I see a bank or financial institution use SMS for 2nd factor, I nope the fuck out.
This is actually really helpful...I have more questions but if I start they'll never end, so I'll read up on it. Thanks!
Her booty and that weeny lil wrench tho.. hahaha.
Also, the regulation will never take off in any meaningful way, even if they did limit it US side, many other gaps will exist to fill the holes for on and off boarding.
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