Can Privacy And Regulation Go Together? Staying Private In A Transparent World

Spread the word!

By nature, cryptocurrency is anonymous. Many say it is private because of the anonymous wallet addresses, but the first time you send coins from an exchange to that address, it is tied to your identity. In the current political and global landscape, this makes you wonder do we have any privacy anymore?

In my morning scanning of crypto Twitter, I saw this tweet poll from Navcoin and it sparked this idea in my head.

POLL: Can legitimate and substantial #privacy ever be compatible with crypto regulations?
— Navcoin (@Navcoin) July 12, 2022

This made me think, can we ever have full on privacy in a regulated landscape with crypto? I don’t think so, and remember this is just my opinion, but with the landscape and the global NWO initiatives, like the World Economic Forum’s ‘Great Reset’ plan. They do not want us having any privacy. That is what scares them about the cryptocurrency industry.

War On Cash

Not only are we seeing an incredible increase in regulation interest in the crypto industry, there is also a global war on cash. They really do not want cash to exist anymore. Since the COVID 19 plannedemic, when they started taking about spreading the virus via money, many retailers started to refuse cash. There is also, at least in the US, a ‘national coin shortage’. This basically means they are destroying more coins than are in circulation. But I mean, how much is it really worth these days. They say ‘cash is king’ but is it really? If you are looking for true privacy in your transactions, cash is the one of the last forms of private transactions. But if the ultimately have their way, they will be going to all CBDCs so they can track every transaction!

Regulations Will Bring CBDCs

Central Bank Digital Currencies will negate any privacy that we have left in traditional commerce. They will be able to directly track every single transaction you make, even to the point of cutting off your funding if they don’t like the way you shop.

This is why they are wanting to get their mitts on the crypto industry. They know at this point that yes, crypto is anonymous, so that is why they are attacking the centralized on ramps and off ramps. Here they can require the KYC, or know your customer, information so they have your face, ID, and all that juicy, trackable personal data.

Regulators HATE Privacy Coins – So Use Them!

Privacy coins may prove in the long run to be the only true private transaction method in the future, but the issue is that many exchanges, especially in the US do not take coins like Monero or Pirate Chain which are truly private coins. The IRS actually put out a very large bounty a couple of years ago for anyone who could crack and track Monero, as far as I know, the money hasn’t been claimed. The attack here is not allowing exchanges to list these coins. Thus making true privacy coins hard to deal with. You have to find people to exchange with, and even the retailers that accept crypto, most do not accept coins like Monero.

The best thing for truly private property ownership is to still use Monero as a store of value and transaction, but you do need to be aware that they have had issues in the past with the chain, so as with any crypto, make sure to accept any risk. Hold these coins on a cold storage wallet like a Ledger so the private keys are offline. Pirate Chain is also a choice of the anarcho-capitalist, but honestly I haven’t looked too much into it. But I will say that I do stack some Monero for those SHTF moments along with extra bullets, haha.

DASH and ZCash claim to be private, they are not private at their core level. There are mechanisms that the user has to choose that give it privacy feature, but still not truly untraceable. Even newer chains like Secret Network in the Cosmos ecosystem are transparent at layer 1, you have to wrap the tokens for the privacy features. So in a way, it can still be traced.

Staying Private With Non Privacy Coins Like Bitcoin

Bitcoin is not a privacy coin. It is completely transparent and trackable. That’s really apart of any blockchain other than the above listed privacy coins, which I know I probably missed some, but you get the idea.

The way that regulators can track you with Bitcoin is again through the centralized exchanges. So when you purchase crypto assets using any fiat method that has your ID and your KYC data, then send it from the exchange to your ‘private Bitcoin wallet’, your wallet address is then tied to the exchange address, that is then tied to your name. They gotcha.

One way to stay private if you are purchasing BTC, it to use a wallet like Exodus that actually uses a different Bitcoin address for each transaction. Then you can send it to something like a mixer service and from there to your cold storage wallet. I mean this works, if you really really are trying to hide your Bitcoin that you purchased from an exchange, it can cost you in network fees though.

A bitcoin mixer is a software service that breaks down your funds into smaller sets and subsequently mix it with other transactions. After this process, we call bitcoin tumbling, the recipient gets the same value in bitcoin but receives a different set of coins. This makes bitcoin tracing more difficult and breaks the link between those specific coins and an individual. One of the best mixer services is blender.io.

The problem with mixer services, the regulators are aware of them and are trying to get them outlawed, again, at least in the US, ‘Land of the Free’ am I right? LOL. More like the land of the over taxed and over regulated.

Propoganda

The government will play puppeteer with the lame stream media and try to make the masses think that they need to give up their privacy for security and safety, and the herd will agree. We have to continue to try and get the word about about the plans of the different NGOs, who really run the planet, that direct the central banks and governments to make the moves they make to make our lives extremely difficult if we want to live as free and sovereign people. But those of us who are true free people will always find a way.

People are starting to really wake up to what the governments are trying to do, but it’s going to take people actually taking a stand and taking an action by protecting themselves.

Digital Self Protection – USE A VPN

For god’s sake people, use a VPN, or a virtual private network. This protects you and your data from being tracked by your ISP, internet service provider for the laymen, and the government. This also is a way to be able to use the services that are limited in the US, like exchanges that allow you to trade freely, and with leverage (which yes is risky, but let me do what I want!), but will allow people to go into a casino in many states, or let them buy as many scratch off lottery tickets as they want. It’s all a scam. Crypto is our way out, but if we continue to give into the the regulators, they will continue to get their way!

NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR CHEESE!

If you leave your money on an exchange, or god forbid one of these services like Celsius or Voyager that have complete control over your funds, use them for their own gains, then lock you out from withdrawing, you are NOT in control of your funds. For anything other than a trading account, take your money OFF these exchanges. It’s no better than a bank. Actually the same thing. IF you purchase crypto, get it into a self custody wallet as soon as possible where you hold the private keys!

If you don’t want to deal with a cold storage wallet, at least write down your seed phrase in a book and put it in a safe! This way you will always have them in a ‘safe place’, get it… This also is in assumption you keep your safe in a safe place… Get a fire and water proof safe on top of it.

I even made a book that can help you store your seed phrases! Yes, it’s currently on Amazon, but will soon be coming to the Hivelist Store as well!

Earn Your Way! Don’t Buy Your Way!

Vote with your money and get it out of their hands! This includes your business. If you stop trying to earn fiat, and focus on earning crypto, the less the regulators can track you. If you are not buying through centralized exchanges, but you are earning, it is much harder to trace. Simply earning Hive through posting, then exchanging it to whatever crypto you want through, Tribaldex or Hive-Engine then sending out to your private wallet is another great way.

Using Gift Cards and Pay Bills With Crypto!

Using services like Bitrefill or Bitpay let you purchase gift cards for most things you can ever need. Need to travel, buy groceries, or need something from Amazon, they have a solution for you that doesn’t tie into your ID! You just need an email to sign up!

Bitrefill also now has a bill pay service which has a ton of offerings for paying your bills with Bitcoin or Lightning, which means you can use @brianoflondon’s v4v.app, you can pay your bills using Hive through the Lightning network!

Crypto ATMs

Then there are crypto ATMs. Some require ID, but mostly for transactions of over $200, at least this is my experience. This can be a great way to go back and forth with cash and crypto and stay private. The problem with these guys, THE FEES and EXCHANGE RATES! You need to pay attention to the exchange rates and the fees being charged. Here is where some of these machines can get you in the long run.

Stay Safe In This Changing World

The economy is going digital, so it’s more important than ever to keep your data safe. These tips are just some that I use in my own personal life. You can get really deep into the security aspect of it and go nuts with it, but that all depends on you and your needs, and how much money you are trying to store. At minimum, keep your seed phrases off of your computer in a safe place, and use a VPN to protect your internet data!

Be careful and limit your interactions with centralized exchanges and firms. They control your money like a bank as as we have seen, they can do what they want with your money.

And always remember, NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR CHEESE!

Until next time friends…

Be Cool, Be Real, and always Abide!