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Think you're anonymous in Crypto? Think again...

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@jrcornel
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2 min read

We just got a glimpse into exactly how much regulators are watching...

There was a very sobering report out in Cointelegraph this morning that gave some details just how deep the watchdogs go...

And here's a teaser, it's a lot further than you likely guessed.

The gist of the report was basically this...

If you have ever used a centralized exchange and had to provide any KYC/AML information to that exchange, authorities likely know what you have, how much you have, and where you have it.

Yep... scary.

Some of the particularly interesting quotes from the article...

"I’ve worked for crypto exchanges, bitcoin ATM companies, general crypto services providers, and more. They all engage in surveillance practices. They have no choice.”

"In traditional institutions, a transaction needs to meet certain criteria in most cases to be deemed suspicious. That’s not really true for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies though. As far as the government is concerned, the threshold of ‘suspicious’ is met as soon as cryptocurrency is involved.”

“Custodial entities are legally required to file SARs for basically any [suspicious] crypto-related transaction above $5,000, regardless of the user’s other activity. Many file for lower amounts. The entities are legally barred from revealing this reporting data to users, or any member of the public. We can not tell you we’ve filed a report on you — ever. And entities can not refuse to comply with these reporting tactics because if they do, they will lose the licenses which allow them to operate. They may face fines or even imprisonment.”

And the really scary part...

"What coins you hold, how often you trade, the initial source of any funds used to buy crypto, the amount of profit you’ve taken within a certain period of time. They can and do ask for it all. They also keep track of where your coins are sent once they leave centralized custody. So if you’re keeping your coins in cold storage, there is a good chance that some office within one or more world governments is aware of that wallet address. No matter where you move them, if a centralized exchange has ever held those coins, they can track you.”

Oh and if you have ever had an experience in crypto where your funds seem to be frozen for no apparent reason or there was some delay in a transfer that was out of the ordinary there is a decent chance that was due to a suspicious activity review/report being conducted...

“Frozen accounts or funds. If you’ve had login issues that barred you from accessing your account. Anything like that likely means you have been subjected to a suspicious activity report without your knowledge. Or a government entity may have requested insight about you or your funds, in which case you may not be allowed to move forward until their review is complete.”

More on this can be seen here:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/nevermind-coinbase-big-brother-is-already-watching-your-coins

Not sure about you, but this was a pretty big eye opener for me.

And we thought they were behind the curve on crypto, nope, they've been watching and monitoring this whole time.

Stay informed my friends.

Image Source:

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Brother_(Nineteen_Eighty-Four)

-Doc

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