Isn’t KYC anti-ethical to Bitcoin?

[95Bolu]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

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[mk4]

Yes, yes it is. But right now that bitcoin is still not widely adopted by the majority of people, then unfortunately we need these easy to use onramps(though yes we have  no-KYC p2p exchanges).

In the end, people will use whatever is easier for them. The typical person doesn’t care about privacy in the first place.

[galambo]

You can still trade BTC with anonymity, it all depends on what you prefer. There are so many exchanges around and most of them are centralized that require KYC. If you are ready to compromise on your privacy then you can join these centralized exchanges. But yes I do agree that most common source of BTC trading is through these exchanges.

[Coyster]

It is still up to the user to either pay serious attention to their privacy and not use exchanges that require KYC, and of course there are ways to purchase Bitcoin without it, thus in my opinion, it's actually not a problem with the network, but with the particular user, as we all know the user is in control and is their own bank, so they have their privacy in their hands, if they want to give it up by using KYC exchanges, then it's on them. Though you can definitely stay safe when you use centralized exchanges, what you basically need to do is just follow the rule of thumb of not storing your funds in there for a long period of time.

Having said that, I know it's pretty difficult to maintain your privacy, but what people must understand that in our contemporary society today, it definitely wouldn't be easy, with the government trying it's best to establish control over many aspects of our lives.

[bitmover]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

Even being forced to do KYC and sending your documents to purchase bitcoin, you can still achieve a pseudo anonymity when buying products.

Let's suppose you bought 10k USD in bitcoin in Coinbase, and you sent your documents there and withdrawal those funds to the address A.

You can just send your coins to a bitcoin mixer (address B), and then the mixer will send you back other coins  (which are not linked to your coins from address B) from address C to your address D.

This way you can achieve some anonymity.

[tyz]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

Yes, it is!
But the Bitcoin community is not a homogeneous group. There are those who use Bitcoin out of idealism and those will certainly not do KYC's. There are alternative platforms where you don't need a KYC, but they are usually technically more complex to use.
On the other hand, there are the opportunists. Those who want to make quick as money with Bitcoin. For them the original idea of Bitcoin is of little or no importance. They have no problem to make a KYC everywhere where a little profit can be made.

[Cakeonit]

Speaking of mixers, who are the most trusted and larger volume mixers these days?  It's been a while, and tbh I've always been very nervous about them wrt exit scams or other vulnerabilities.

[davis196]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

What do you mean by "anti-enthical"?Can you elaborate more on this term?
KYC regulations apply to all financial services.Which government regulations are "ethical" and which are "anti-enthical"?The law is what it is and we have to follow the rules,even though some of rules are BS.
KYC is required when you open a bank account or a forex trading account in fiat currency.
We all want the crypto industry to be viewed by the government as a legit and legal industry.
If we want mass crypto adoption and legalization,this is the price we have to pay.
If you are complaining about not being anonymous,then why don't you use you a privacy coin like Monero.

[K4C]

Bitcoin is the currency which is known for decentralization. But it is about your priorities. There are so many exchanges which are centralized and need kyc . If you need privacy then you can use it by decentralized method . But i think so many people don't want that anyone know about his portfolio .so everyone can get benefits by the decentralization. And if you want to be centralized then you should use exchanges which need kyc .

[Wind_FURY]

I believe anti-ethical is the wrong term. Centralized services are merely protecting their business. But if KYC, if possible, was coded in the protocol itself, and the developers claim "freedom", "hard money", "anti-censorship", then yes that would be anti-ethical.

[Coin_trader]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

To remain anonymous is only possible if people will not convert Bitcoin to Fiat. All things change when Fiat is already involved since it was already covered by the law. Since Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, Businesses that accepting it needs to abide the AML policy to all there customer just have there business permit to operate. The idea of being anonymous Bitcoin is only within the Bitcoin blockchain itself and not on the outside market.

[Henrobakkara]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

Yeah, there are other ways especially some p2p exchanges that don't require kyc for you to trade or buy BTC but isn't this whole idea of people being strict about doing kycs that makes it more concerning for others to believe that bitcoin is mostly used for bad transactions? I do understand that there has been negative news also about what happens to some people's Docs. but overall I don't see anything bad with KYC but don't do KYC on every site though.

[DaveF]

KYC is not a bad thing. If you don't want to use services that require it then you don't.
Depending on where you live there are plenty that do not require it.
There are exchanges for other coins, ways of getting cash, gift cards and just about anything else that do not require your info.

IF on the other hand you want a regulated environment with more rules and security, then yes you are going to wind up with KYC.
I can go to localcryptos.com and get cash for my BTC, and hope everything goes smoothly (it usually does) OR I can go to Gemini give up my personal info and know that it will go smoothly.
The choice is up to you.

-Dave

[OcTradism]

Not your keys not your coins. So you control what you do with either custodial or non-custodial wallets. Non-custodial wallets are ones to be chosen and used.

You can choose wallets with Tor connection and Coin Join transaction feature.

If you don't want to do KYC but still be able to buy or sell Bitcoin, do it on DEX or Peer to peer marketplace

Notyourkeys.org
Recommended wallets
[BIG LIST] Buy/Sell Crypto (OTC, P2P, DEXs, CEXs, NO-KYC, ATMs, etc.)
Help: A list of LocalBitcoin alternatives (P2P marketplaces)

[mindrust]

When i first heard about bitcoin, one of the selling points then was the pseudo anonymity. But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

I’m just curious of everyone’s thought on this.

I can't decide. Bitcoin itself isn't fully anonymous neither. So when you say if KYC is non-ethical to bitcoin, It don't have a clear answer. If you said monero instead of bitcoin then I would say "yes" without a doubt.

Regardless of the project though, I don't like KYC in crypto. Crypto isn't something that needs a government support. It is not a bank. So KYC makes no sense.

[OcTradism]

I can't decide. Bitcoin itself isn't fully anonymous neither. So when you say if KYC is non-ethical to bitcoin, It don't have a clear answer. If you said monero instead of bitcoin then I would say "yes" without a doubt.

Noncustodial wallets, mixing or privacy coins. The important steps are how to broadcast your transactions. Wallet itself can not protect your privacy or anonymity.

[Guide] Decent mixing methods

Regardless of the project though, I don't like KYC in crypto. Crypto isn't something that needs a government support. It is not a bank. So KYC makes no sense.

Like or dislike, we will have to accept because more exchanges will be required to implement KYC by government command.

[so98nn]

Yes, yes it is. But right now that bitcoin is still not widely adopted by the majority of people, then unfortunately we need these easy to use onramps(though yes we have  no-KYC p2p exchanges).

In the end, people will use whatever is easier for them. The typical person doesn’t care about privacy in the first place.

Ahh, yeah the typical person never will as long as they are not earning in millions from the crypto. Lolz. Well, this is good one because I literally never cared for privacy of documents which I was uploading on the exchangers because I have always learnt about the exchanger first then did that action. I know there are many ways peeps can get screwed for uploading their KYC docs for example, ICO verification, airdrop verification etc. But obviously it is stupid to upload the docs to newly formed companies who are having fake profiles everywhere.

Here we are talking about crypto space where we have to buy pre-existing coins like Bitcoin, which is available everywhere and can easily bought with p2p, or trusted exchangers or even friend to friends to transfer for that matter.

As of me, I am not concerned at all.

[ChiBitCTy]

Yes, yes it is. But right now that bitcoin is still not widely adopted by the majority of people, then unfortunately we need these easy to use onramps(though yes we have  no-KYC p2p exchanges).

In the end, people will use whatever is easier for them. The typical person doesn’t care about privacy in the first place.

This is a very good point here. Once more people are in on bitcoin then we can utilize buying and selling OTC (Over  The Counter) much easier. 

As of right now I don’t think it’s that huge of a deal that companies are demanding KYC, as if they didn’t I think most governments would shut down exchanges.

[Argoo]

In some cases, we have to come to terms with KYC requirements. Although a certain degree of anonymity is indeed inherent in decentralized cryptocurrency, it can only walk on the territory of certain states. And states do not like the circulation of large flows of money from unknown persons with unknown purposes. Therefore, in June 2019, the international financial group FATF adopted binding recommendations by states that KYC can be used only for the purpose of preventing money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and only if transactions exceed one thousand euros.
So far, not many states have legalized cryptocurrency, and we still have the opportunity to trade cryptocurrency anonymously. In the future, these opportunities will decrease.

[jtipt]

To remain anonymous is only possible if people will not convert Bitcoin to Fiat.

Exactly thats right on point. When you bring in fiat currencies you will need to comply with its issuing government's laws. In the purest form, BTC is meant to be obtained by mining and used as currency among the people, exchanges changed it all when you could "buy/sell" BTC with fiat currency.

But as of recently, it is hard to purchase any crypto without encountering a form of KYC.

There are still ways to avoid KYC while using fiat by doing OTC P2P trades, there are also DEX such as Bisq where you can do P2P trades online which the need of KYC like it was the case with localbitcoins back in the day.