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The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

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31–40 of 611 posts

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#31

As someone who hasn't read the article, is holding bitcoin in your own wallet going to become illegal? Also, which wallet do you guys recommend, I use Coinbase but it sucks.

It doesn't look like that explicitly will become illegal, but this part undermines a lot of the value of it:

> creating and using single-use wallets, addresses, or accounts, and sending [cryptocurrency] through such wallets, addresses, or accounts through a series of independent transactions

That's the default way Bitcoin wallets work, and it helps a ton to improve privacy. If we were limited to always reusing the same few addresses, it'll be very easy for not just law enforcement but ANYONE to see just how much Bitcoin you have.

If that's a small amount, it's not a risk. If it's a big amount, now you've got a target on your back. For me to accept Bitcoin payments, I need to publish my address, and from that address, you'll be able to see how much Bitcoin I have (and trace other transactions) over time.

Imagine everyone in town knowing that you've got six figures (or more) of money that can undoubtedly be extracted from you by invading your home, taking family members hostage, etc. At that point, you may think it's safer to keep it in an exchange, and you may be right.

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#32
post #3

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> nation is going to give up their self-determination because someone thinks countries having self-control

Nations do not have selves. That's taking the analogy too far. I do agree that they will definitely continue trying to exert control, though. It's kinda their thing.

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#33
> [The Patriot Act] contains many sunset provisions beginning December 31, 2005, approximately four years after its passage. Before the sunset date, an extension was passed for four years which kept most of the law intact. In May 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunset Extensions Act of 2011, which extended three provisions. These provisions were modified and extended until 2019 by the USA Freedom Act, passed in 2015. In 2020, efforts to extend the provisions were not passed by the House of Representatives, and as such, the law has expired.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#35
post #29

As someone who hasn't read the article, is holding bitcoin in your own wallet going to become illegal? Also, which wallet do you guys recommend, I use Coinbase but it sucks.

[dead]

Coinbase is an exchange, but they also acquired a standalone wallet that's been rebranded a few times, but now it seems to be called Base (Formerly Coinbase Wallet).

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#37

Maybe in 2028 a presidential candidate can run with removing the Patriot Act as one of their campaign points. I suspect the world will be very different then. The America I knew, remembered, and loved started dying with the passage of the Patriot Act.

the average man does not want to be free. he simply wants to be safe. ~H.L. Mencken

The bad guys will say you only need privacy if you’re guilty and the plebs will lap it up

Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#38

Maybe in 2028 a presidential candidate can run with removing the Patriot Act as one of their campaign points. I suspect the world will be very different then. The America I knew, remembered, and loved started dying with the passage of the Patriot Act.

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Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#39

Maybe in 2028 a presidential candidate can run with removing the Patriot Act as one of their campaign points. I suspect the world will be very different then. The America I knew, remembered, and loved started dying with the passage of the Patriot Act.

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Re: The treasury is expanding the Patriot Act to attack Bitcoin self custody

#40
post #20

Not a huge surprise, unfortunately.

I'm surprised because I thought the Trump administration was hot on crypto.

They might be pro-crypto, but you're not in their group of special people allowed to anonymously own it. You have to use a wallet service owned by someone in that group, so that you're always under control.
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