Thread

FinCEN’s proposal to outlaw all crypto privacy is a huge overreach. They apply a section of the Patriot Act on a “class of transactions” in a new precedent. Doesn’t matter if it’s custodial or noncustodial- merely using certain type of code can be an illegal act. People are caught by the potential spot ETF, meanwhile this is proposed. Now they fight you.
No Bullshit Bitcoin
FinCEN Seeks to Impose Strict Surveillance Requirements onto Broadly Defined Class of 'Bitcoin Mixers'
The agency proposed designating 'crypto mixing' as an area of “primary money laundering concern" in order to impose certain recordkeeping and rep...

Replies (101)

Almost every nation state (not just US) are very obsessed with surveillance. I hope people don't get too much excited about #Bitcoin spot ETF. This is exactly where our focus should be. It seems like we all Bitcoiners will have to go for a war against nation states for privacy. Live Free or Die. #Bitcoin and #NOSTR are the only way out. View quoted note → Nation States (not just US) are very obsessed with surveillance
↩ replying to Saberhagen The Nameless
I was wrong, or at least, passing on unverified info. Sorry. The info I shared was not from an article, but from a twitter account that has since been deleted. The post did include a link to this article:
WIRED
The Dark Web’s Favorite Currency Is Less Untraceable Than It Seems
Researchers point out serious gaps in the privacy promises of stealth cryptocoin Monero.
 That's a different thing altogether.
I suspect that this proposal will not pass as written but even by proposing, it will bring much more awareness to a system built of manipulation and control, versus truth and freedom. The US will not beat China by being more authoritarian than China, so I’m betting that smarter heads will prevail, but even in the event they don’t - it would only accelerate the development towards countries looking to take advantage of the US increasingly turning away from individual rights and freedoms and a free market. But as you say @Lyn Alden - We are in the “then they fight you” stage.
Yup. So then what’s the play when we see EO6102 events or regs that prevent hold keys in qualified accounts (similar to PMs) or _____? They’re going to try to force everyone into their bolshevik banking cartel approved custodians or else. Do folks really think you’re going to have a parallel black market economy with their non-KYC stack? That seems naive. It will be pretty easy for the man to programmatically hunt and kill in the era of AI and 8k fresh IRS agents. So it seems like one either needs a side pot or a trusted custodian with a shared worldview or be faced with leaving the country or achieving second passport with a way to repatriate offshore investment earnings (assumes min level of wealth) or some other hack that I’m not smart enough to figure out yet. Or we continue to slug it out earning fiat till the inevitable rise of BTC and the USofA sees the orange light… that ain’t gonna happen until after a lot a lot a pain (GDII, war, famine, CBDC, etc). What can we do to preemptively get ahead of these possible attack vectors? Maybe high profile folks like Lynn don’t wanna go on record discussing which I understand. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Buuueler?
↩ replying to Diligent Ninja
For basic necessities perhaps… even then is your local merchant or farmers market person gonna follow security protocol? Someone’s eventually gonna slip. It’s an easy programmatic hunt n kill for whatever gubment enforcement agency is deployed and it will most likely be private tech (see @Whitney Webb‘s recent article on Peter Thiels investments). They won’t even need to send an IRS agent. You’ll just get levy notice. We already know from the hearings the FBI is tracking all activity. This is easy policing especially in a CBDC existence. Outside of basic necessities, it gets even more hairy with other large asset purchases. I think there is a way to get ahead of it and it could be having a side pot with a trusted Custodian aligned in worldview (Strike or KingdomTrust perhaps) who has the resources to navigate the nonsense. Still, I feel like there are other solutions and financial instruments that could be created now so folks can continue to self custody and operate biz as usual in such an environment. Those with fatter stacks will be faced with getting a second passport in a more friendly jurisdiction (ElSalvador still has extradition) and leave the country till the dust settles and the BTC phoenix arises OR make offshore investments and repatriate back to the US for operating dough. When BTC goes to 1mm demand will create the way, but why not get ahead of it now? Anyone who is a student of history knows the mob will go to extremes to protect their hegemony. The small BTC holders are gonna cave under that pressure without options…meanwhile they seem content to go on meme-ing rather than game this stuff out together. We don’t win the monetary war that way. Doesn’t matter how good we are at homesteading and living in a blackmarket existence…which I’m all for by the way. Help me think through this.
↩ replying to npub1yzgn...kry5
I saw your note only now. I have the same worries. I'm currently reading this book
The Vonu Podcast
[Free] Vonu Books | The Vonu Podcast
Searching for high quality books/zines on self-liberation, including the book that inspired this podcast? Look no further. Download for free below ...
 It discusses some options. It is interesting how everything is still valid or worse. But better in that we have Bitcoin and Nostr...
↩ replying to npub13qmz...55wf
Took a listen to that book today. At first glance Im not sure that this dude's values would align with my priorities of being intentional about community, family, church, etc. However, I appreciated the escape hatch ideas. Im more interested with how to create financial instruments and/or align with larger financial institutions who are aligned in worldview with the aim of creating solutions to navigate the seemingly inevitable events to come so we can stay put and fight the good fight. @npub1f9vq...y83u and nostr:npub1zleyq5x90ssge0mjf0fquy5dd0n0z3tytqtfddzvgvh0j54e8k2sxypppaseems to be of the same mind.
We are in the “then they fight you” stage. There are no laws anymore. “Law” is gone. Don’t get hung-up still thinking there are laws. It’s everyone for themselves. The people fighting within the (now) fake Laws, matter very greatly. The people rejecting the (now) fake Laws, matter very greatly. We don’t know our future. It’s never been more uncertain. The time we live in is not a good time for people who need to know how things are supposed to work. But it’s a very good time for those who are whatever the opposite of “Sociopathy” are.
Exchanges in the US are already co-opted and their over eager KYC allows the USG to track coins that originate domestically and a weapon against self custodial uses of coins from exchanges. I think this is also is a way to bully offshore banks to not work with local Bitcoin exchanges. The complexity of if a tx does or does not fall afoul of these proposed rules will not be worth the risk of losing access to the US banking system. I still don't think most government regulators realize the peril the state (and their job) is in. These regulations are just the start of them waking up.
Let's face it, if one day any government decides that crypto is illegal, there won’t be absolutely nothing we can do about it. For the moment, the crypto movement is tolerated, but if the feeling of mistrust towards a state, a currency or an institution grows, the tide may turn, and not necessarily in the right direction. It's the "anarchist" side of this ecosystem that displeases institutions, and that's damaging for the BTC project.