Why I don't Support KYC in cryptocurrency as it is

[Herbys]

I fully agree that KYC should not be.
But on the other hand people are going to spread their personal data without thinking that the ICO project team is not responsible for confidentiality and the fact that the distribution of personal data can not be proved.

Especially KYC looks ridiculous at the end of the company's bounty, despite the fact that initially it was not announced, accompanied by blackmail about paying a deserved reward.

[Etoasiatsxxx]

It is difficult to join the ICO campaigns especially when there is a KYC because we do not know whether they are true to their plan or they are just a group of terrorists who want to collect documents to use in illegal activities.
That is why I do not agree to have it.

[stompix]

this is a known thing actually. and i have also warned about it before. these ICOs that are asking for KYC are not really doing it because of doing KYC stuff, they are in fact mining identities and will most probably sell it to earn even more money from their useless token creation process.

it doesn't stop at ICOs either. the unregulated exchanges that ask for KYC are the same thing too.

Yeah, most of them ask for documents just to either make it look like they are a law abiding company or just to harvest ids.

One of my friends who is actively playing around with ICO has tested a few by sending them a scanned copy of his previous id, which expired in 2012. Guess what, only one out of 4 has rejected it.  
Of course, I can't trust his story 100% but I don't find it so hard to believe it.

Back in the days of BTCJam I saw the doxing of a scammer that used an id with the place of birth Warsaw.....

[carlisle1]

Were here because of one same thing,privacy thats why we leave banking to have our own silent financial life and there this KYC thing that wanted us to reveal our identity just to comply with what they need.

Theres no point to argue with the OP and besides I totally agreed with your post mate and i love the idea of beating this kyc

[spadormie]

I also don't support KYC in cryptocurrency. I believe that you are just putting your information that are valuable to you into those person that might use it for crimes. But, I believe that God knows whether you're the person responsible for a crime or not.

[mr.nby]

Yes, the KYC on ICOs is pointless. And this was made by these governments as they require ICOs to submit our KYC information. Now scan ICOs abuse this rule to harvest identities and use it or sell it somewhere else. Better protect our identity by not joining these kind of ICOs or better, let's fake our identities, we have freedom to do it and they don't have the right to complain.

It's best to avoid all ICOs that require KYC. It is not known who has this data and how it will be used. It's better to stay away from KYC for your own good.

[swaggerkeme]

Absolutely, KYC is a bit worrying to most people in the world of crypto especially during ICOs, honestly I think it drives some good investors who don't feel comfortable with it. Since bitcoin and the other Cryptos are supposed to be decentralized people find KYC a bit worrying.

[Nonie]

I think it's important about kyc for ico participants because it's a matter of invesment that uses a lot of money. if only the scammer's problem is the risk that's why it's important to look for a really serious project not a scam project

[w5pn73]

I don't see why anyone would fight against your view.  Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.  There's no compelling reason to trust strangers on the internet with either our money or our personally identifiable and financially sensitive data.  

Also, you don't need to take chances on random, unknown (and potentially malicious) ICOs and airdrops in order to be successful in crypto.  The more you play with fire, the more you risk getting burned.  It's better to stick with known quantities and established, reputable altcoins.

The problem is all these people who seem to have no problem distributing their private information for free.
Some are even doing it for airdrops, which makes no sense at all.

[Newboybb]

I also do not agree with any ICO project adopting KYC (even if it faces legal problems).
However, most of the current KYC data are not properly kept.

[Catch-22]

I’ve earned a lot from ICOs that requires KYC. I fully understand your paranoia. But they wouldn’t pay me if I refused to their KYC requirement. Besides, I’ve already done my homework on the company. It’s worth the risk. 

[FunGate]

There should be full reciprocity. If they demand proof if ID from you, then you should be able to demand it from them. After all, who is giving the money to who?

It's backwards as far as I'm concerned. These people could just be a bunch of dudes hanging out in their mum's basement and laughing their way all the way to the Bitcoin ATM as they steal a bunch of people's money and then later sell their ID's to some human trafficking mafia or something. No way.

But if you can verify these people, their location, their reputation, then that's fine. It's just like signing up for a brokerage account with a trading platform. You've gotta prove who you are to invest the money.

[franky1]

when regulators ask businesses to KYC a customer. this is not about governments then getting peoples ID.
as coinbase provd. it was regulated already but then when the IRS wanted customers ID, coinbase said no.. which shows that governments do not get the peoples ID as standard regulation process(otherewis IRS would already have had customers details)

regulations are not about consumer confidence or insurance. as the banking sector has proven in 2008 when many mortgage companies and banks screwed over mortgage holders, even though the banks/mortgage companies were regulated.

what regulations are is simply this:
governments ask BUSINESSES to police its own customers. and if laundering occurs. to avoid the regulated business getting in troubl the business has to hand over data of a culprit. thus the business is cleared of wrong doing and wont be held accountable.
businesses are not even allowed/suppose to stop the movements of funds or inform the customer that the customer is under investigation. thus its not helpful to real hoonest customers that may make a mistake(if you dont know u done wrong you cant put it right or explain the reason to avoid things going further).

the ID grabbing is just something a business meant to hold secure and not use for any purpose but to use if/when a customer is flagged by the businesses own constructed policy(yes the business has to make its own policing guidelines)

ICO's that have no licence should not be demanding sensitive information without proof/reasoning of legal requirement.. especially now since the data protection laws update
..
what we as a crypto community should be doing is not get excited about regulation. not lobby for regulation. as none of it helps us. instead what we should be lobbying for is consumer protection. where by we can report dodgy businesses and also dodgy customers of a business whereby the dodgy customer could negatively affect other customers. and where we do get the insurances and protections we need. where giving our ID's empowers us to then have a case against the business because they have our details.

[nickwen]

You are quite right. Not all KYCs are actually safe for one to do. Apart from ICOs, some airdrops sometimes require KYC of which you will later realize the airdrop to be fake. What then happens to the information they collected? Will it still be safe?

I think the information we provide for scam projects will never be safe. As far as I know, our information will be used by a group of users for malicious purposes. But surely their purpose is to make money

[hatshepsut93]

KYC is bad even with regulations, remember the last year's Equifax data breach and the uproar it caused? And even without any breaches, there's a good chance all these entities are quietly selling your data which can be used for invasive ads, spying, blackmailing and other things. Privacy is a very serious issue that most people are very ignorant of, and it is especially important with cryptocurrencies due to their nature. You don't want strangers to know about your coins, because you can become a target for hacks and robberies, and you also might not want the government to know about your coins, especially if your government is corrupt and/or hostile towards crypto.

[Ucy]

I bet they already knew about these things. Your safety means nothing to them it seems. They most likely wanted the KYC thing to scare people away from investing in ICOs.

There are some safe alternatives to current kyc that were recommended but they completely ignored.

[bartolo]

One can understand that an ICO team that raises millions of dollars in ETH and exchange those ETH for fiat money to send it to a bank account will need to explain where that money come from and that for that reason they ask big contributors for their KYC documents. However, many times the collection and storage process of that data is not clear enough, especially in cases in which the ICO team delegates this process in a third party, which is not necessarily a well-known and reputable actor.

[Durugista]

One can understand that an ICO team that raises millions of dollars in ETH and exchange those ETH for fiat money to send it to a bank account will need to explain where that money come from and that for that reason they ask big contributors for their KYC documents. However, many times the collection and storage process of that data is not clear enough, especially in cases in which the ICO team delegates this process in a third party, which is not necessarily a well-known and reputable actor.

Yes I agree, KYC do some checking privacy, It could mean that the project is legit because of this, they also want to know if the participants are true persons, to avoid account farming right?

[kotajikikox]

I am going to be very honest here with you guys. I know some of you may antagonise or kick against my view. But I will still speak the truth as it is.

My major reason centered on the fact that there is no regulation for cryptocurrencies.
How can someone somewhere in the name of ICO project team, whom you don't even know, some without a verifiable office address, whose presence is just online and the internet, demand your sensitive information including your international passport, government issued ID, proof of your residential address, and other personal information or documents?
What if this person is just a scammer? What if this person works for maybe a terrorist organization who is just looking for real biodata or identities? What if this person is just a criminal looking for ways to fake his own identity and take upon yours or anyone else? What if your verified photograph (face) matching your identity is used in pornography or nudity? What if the data is accidentally leaked? My questions go on and on.

Remember, the cryptocurrency as it is currently has no regulation, as such there is no regulatory body or authority you can petition your grievances or seek redress should any of the aforementioned incidences happens to you as a result of the information you have forwarded. The ICO project team whom you sent your details can as well disappear without trace.

Therefore, as long as there is no Cryptocurrency Regulation, then there should be NO KYC.

Great explanation against the KYC , o really appreciate and understable your arctics that's one of the reason people in the cryptocurrency world against the kyc system to get an rewards from the cryptocurrency job.
I agree regarding the regulation about crypto what is the use of indentification if the governmnet their haven't an control in crypto and most specially crypto are anonymous currency.

[hirngespenst]

I totally agree with your every point and thank you very much for mention every what if points. Cryptocurrency speaks, works as an anonymous system. You do love the crypto world for its anonymity, decentralized system. Then why you need to provide our every personal detail to an ICO Project company!? Why recently most of the ICO Projects wanting real information and even passport ID too. This is not the right thing to do, we need to do something against KYC. I Also hate KYC system because don't want to share my identity in online to an unknown community or person. KYC procedure should be stopped.