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EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

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11–20 of 267 posts

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#11
post #7

I understand anti-EU sentiment, but who uses bitcoin for something different than transfering illegal funds and speculation? I understand Ethereum and other smart contract cryptocurcies, but time when people believed Bitcoin is going to become currency are long gone

El Salvador is trying to use it a currency. Well, I still wouldn't consider it a currency since pretty much everything will be priced in dollars, but they are using to transfer value. One of the man reasons for this was to send home remittances. Many people still believe Bitcoin could at least be used to transfer value, like a currency. AMC, Starbucks, and United Wholesale Mortgage are all looking into accepting it.…

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Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#13
post #7

I understand anti-EU sentiment, but who uses bitcoin for something different than transfering illegal funds and speculation? I understand Ethereum and other smart contract cryptocurcies, but time when people believed Bitcoin is going to become currency are long gone

I've used eth twice for motorcycle purchases from private sellers.

Perhaps it's useful in for medium-large purchases.

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#14
post #12
post #4

This is going to work out just as well as when the EU banned tracking cookies!

When did the EU ban tracking cookies?

The EU regulates tracking cookies. They're not banned, but the requirements for their use are rather strict, due to the interactions between the ePrivacy Directive (2002) and the GDPR (2016).

To GP's broader point, "what about GDPR?" the GDPR basically steps back when other laws apply. Processing personal data requires a legal basis, and one option for legal basis is "Legal Requirement," so if another law says it's required, GDPR says it's OK. And furthermore several provisions (like erasure) don't necessarily apply. GDPR would impose some restrictions like access and notice. The biggest issue is going to be "who is the Controller?", i.e. who 'owns' the data and who is in control of the processing?

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#15
post #6
post #3

It is very hard to ban math. An “anonymous wallet” is a random number!

> In practice, this means that a service provider exchanging crypto on behalf of a customer would have to record their name, address, date of birth and account number, as well as the name of the intended recipient of the transfer. As usual, the regulation checkpoint is at the exchanges.

And what happens when you transfer it to a mixer? A self-hosted wallet? Or the EU regulate exchanges to the point you can't transfer your Bitcoin to a wallet you own?

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#16
Old news... also the people announcing it are actually idiots or misinformed on terminology because they aren't talking about local wallets on your computer. By "anonymous crypto wallets" they are talking about anonymous wallets on exchanges, which is very different than most people would think at first glance. This is not "send in the public key of every wallet you've ever touched to the tax service."

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#17
post #7

I understand anti-EU sentiment, but who uses bitcoin for something different than transfering illegal funds and speculation? I understand Ethereum and other smart contract cryptocurcies, but time when people believed Bitcoin is going to become currency are long gone

El Salvador is trying to use it a currency. Well, I still wouldn't consider it a currency since pretty much everything will be priced in dollars, but they are using to transfer value. One of the man reasons for this was to send home remittances. Many people still believe Bitcoin could at least be used to transfer value, like a currency. AMC, Starbucks, and United Wholesale Mortgage are all looking into accepting it.…

My understanding is that they are trying to use the Lightning Network. Though my brief googling of this only shows speculation that this is the case, rather than confirmation.

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#18
post #4

This is going to work out just as well as when the EU banned tracking cookies!

I know this is an unpopular take, but for sites (like Stackoverflow) that give me options (if they don't, some times I just skip), I will select "strict" and continue. This is probably an improvement from previous status-quo for me.

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#19
post #7

I understand anti-EU sentiment, but who uses bitcoin for something different than transfering illegal funds and speculation? I understand Ethereum and other smart contract cryptocurcies, but time when people believed Bitcoin is going to become currency are long gone

El Salvador is trying to use it a currency. Well, I still wouldn't consider it a currency since pretty much everything will be priced in dollars, but they are using to transfer value. One of the man reasons for this was to send home remittances. Many people still believe Bitcoin could at least be used to transfer value, like a currency. AMC, Starbucks, and United Wholesale Mortgage are all looking into accepting it.…

Bitcoin is generally considered a 'store of value' rather then a day to day 'currency'...

Sorta like a savings bond vs a credit card

And a few years back, before the transaction fees got so high - there were a few places that took it. NewEgg comes to mind.

Re: EU to make Bitcoin traceable, ban anonymous crypto wallets

#20
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In practice, this means that a service provider exchanging crypto on behalf of a customer would have to record their name, address, date of birth and account number, as well as the name of the intended recipient of the transfer. As usual, the regulation checkpoint is at the exchanges.

And what happens when you transfer it to a mixer? A self-hosted wallet? Or the EU regulate exchanges to the point you can't transfer your Bitcoin to a wallet you own?

Mixers will be considered illegal by the EU. It sort of makes sense. Mixers are primarily used to hide one's identity when doing shady/illegal things with cryptocurrency.
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