Hunted - Crypto anominity

So some of you may have seen the brilliant tv show “Hunted” this show is about a group of people trying to avoid capture for 25 days from simulated legal and police powers. During the show they track people down by mobile signal, cctv and cash withdrawal from ATM’s!

I personally love this cat and mouse game of the man/woman against the state its a brilliant display of human resilience. But ultimately to go under the radar you need to have built an underground bunker in a forest in a previous life and have stock pilled all the basic essentials to keep you going for 80 years.

So how does a truely decentralised currency really make us less controlled? How does it give us annominity?

Well lets think about it, what can Joe bloggs do with crypto today? Buy stuff from an online site, buy stuff in shops, withdraw bitcoin in cash at a special ATM. All of which actually enable you to be traced.

First you have to register to an exchange and deposit via bank transfer or via debit card, this is the first point in which the gov and banks know your entering the world of crypto.

So lets assume you wer able to create an account under an assumed name, they cant surely trace what your doing with that invested money, right? Well yes actually! Its becoming more difficult to actually anonymously use your crypto currency.

Buying online, you need the item to be delivered and generally from a vat reg’d or business reg’d in some country or entity. Unless you’ve found a Silk Road replacement its traceable.

Buying in store, plenty of CCTV and clearly your not trying to hide what your doing if your flashing your crypto loaded card in the streets

Withdrawing cash, again this is usually in populated areas with CCTV watching, after-all the ATM operator wants to protect the cash in the machine. So unless your wearing a hood and covering your face all the way to the machine and back home again. Why bother.

So really how much of the argument do the general Joe public really care about cryptos that offer anominity?

I for one have no issue with my transactions being recorded by the powers at be! An really don’t understand what I’d need to hide, other then if i was doing something or buying some illegally. Anyway lets face it if your willing to enter your personal details to set up an account on an exchange or buying on an online retailer who’s details can be hacked What’s the big deal? At least with a publicly trading company if they are hacked there is some form of recourse.

If we all want to see the technology used in the future and our money invested still being there at the end of the day we have to allow an element of centralisation. For our own personal security crypto’s need to be legalised and regulated, I for one wouldn’t mind the gov backing my investment as they do cash in the bank.

Watch this space for a Bank of England Crypto.