According to this banking insider, the government has it all wrong. Bitcoin is one of the least private assets out there, and they should change their policy to swing the pendulum the other way. In the banking insider’s view, governments are harming their citizens with the current austerity measures, rather than protecting them. It sounds convenient for bitcoiners, sure, but this banking insider looks like the real deal.
He wrote on condition of anonymity An essay for the Bitcoin Policy Institute. It begins with, “Financial privacy—and more specifically, the requirement to obtain informed consent before the collection and use of others’ personal financial information—is fundamental to individual liberty.” From there, it goes to Mordor and back. Banking on something internal? Or are banking insiders just toeing the bitcoiners’ party line? Let’s check what he or she said and find out.
But first, we should not separate this passage from the opening line. It accompanies and complements them.
“With the growing dual threat of cybercrime and increased government surveillance and scrutiny of financial transactions, personal financial privacy is under attack on multiple fronts, and the true costs are beginning to manifest in noticeable ways.”
This is a very important issue and the world should discuss it thoroughly as soon as possible. This banking insider is doing governments a favor by explaining to them how privacy works in Bitcoin. The article also reads like a preemptive strike against a possible Tornado Cash-like ban against the Bitcoin network.
About the Author/Banking Insider
Normally, we don’t interrupt the flow of articles with author information, but this time it’s important. If readers don’t trust the banking insider, they won’t take his words of wisdom seriously. This person knows what is happening.
“The authors choose to remain anonymous to protect their identities and the companies they work for. They have worked at multiple publicly traded financial institutions in the areas of fraud prevention and mitigation; from ground-level strategy to enterprise strategy and policy.”
They also worked on “Identity Verification” and involved in KYC and AML “Compliance and Reporting”. Banking Insider currently works at a bank, helping them “prevent fraud and comply with existing regulatory guidelines around customer identity.” Their warning to governments and citizens is as chilling as it needs to be.
“As someone who has seen identity theft devastate the lives of countless victims, I know how important financial privacy is to protecting consumers from the scammers and criminal networks that have proliferated over the past 15 years. It is estimated that global fraud losses equal 6.4% of global GDP, coming to a staggering $5.38 trillion in 2021. Experts cite protecting and securing personal financial information as the most important step an individual can take to mitigate these threats.”
And because we’re giving credit where it’s due, the Bitcoin Policy Institute defines itself As “a nonpartisan, non-profit organization researching the policy and social implications of Bitcoin and emerging financial networks.”
BTC price chart for 09/22/2022 on FX | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Banking Insider on Privacy
According to Banking Insider, “Cash offers the highest-level privacy.” Second, we have credit card companies or banks, in other words, “third parties to handle transactions on our behalf.” By using them, there is “a relatively high level of privacy” because these companies are “not legally obligated to disclose our transaction information to others without our consent.”
You know who’s third, “Because Bitcoin is an open, public ledger, a user’s transaction history is publicly available to everyone.” The transparency of the Bitcoin network means that “anyone can see all past transactions linked to the holdings of that wallet address – and in many cases, how many bitcoins are in the wallet!”
This leads us to resistance. Just in case lawmakers are thinking of conducting a Tornado Cash-like attack on Bitcoin:
“Bitcoin users who do not want to share their full transaction history or net worth when transacting with a merchant can use collaborative transaction tools to bring their financial privacy on par with their other payment methods. These tools provide services similar to what Visa provides to users today; They protect transaction details from both counterparties and external observers.”
It is not just that cooperative dealing is not a crime. They are absolutely necessary for the system to provide privacy
“These collaborative transaction tools demonstrate an obvious benefit to end-users but are viewed with skepticism by policymakers and financial institutions that enable crypto exchanges and services, as these tools are also conceptually attractive to criminals who want to “try to break the chain” to their funding sources. of visibility.”
Conclusion
Ultimately, the banking insider says only that bitcoin users “deserve the same level of financial privacy that Americans are legally entitled to for everyday transactions — regardless of how those people choose to pay or be paid.” And the system is different enough to merit a new set of rules. And this is not a trivial matter.
“As Bitcoin users grow through regulated exchanges, lawmakers must ensure that their financial privacy is protected at the same level as all other regulated payment rails. If this is not addressed soon, the global threat that fraud poses will only accelerate. “
Note, “Experts cite protecting and securing personal financial information as one of the most important steps an individual can take to mitigate privacy threats”.
Featured Image by Jason Dent on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView
