US pivots on crypto mixers, highlighting valid privacy application

[Yaunfitda]

What is everyone's take on this?



https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/246/GENIUS-Act-Illicit-Finance-Innovation-Congressional-Report-March-2026.pdf

As per their report to Congress this month, the secretary of Treasury identify the threats such as North Korea, ransomware actors, sanction evaders and others. However, they also mentioned that Mixers, that there are individuals who use it to protect their financial privacy as we don't like to be followed in blockchain. Does this signal that we might see US shift on their policy with regards to crypto mixer?

[UchihaSarada]

What is everyone's take on this?

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/246/GENIUS-Act-Illicit-Finance-Innovation-Congressional-Report-March-2026.pdf

As per their report to Congress this month, the secretary of Treasury identify the threats such as North Korea, ransomware actors, sanction evaders and others. However, they also mentioned that Mixers, that there are individuals who use it to protect their financial privacy as we don't like to be followed in blockchain. Does this signal that we might see US shift on their policy with regards to crypto mixer?

TryNinja shared the report in Mixer restrictions yesterday and there is discussion goes on there where you can continue discussion about this newest legal regulation on mixers in the USA.

It's a big news and makes mixer industry more acceptable legally in the USA but there are restrictions too. It's hard to operate a mixer while the operator can control origin of coins from users and restrict users who have dirty coins. I don't know how it can be done with mixer operator so even it is a good news for mixer industry, the legal practice is still very vague.

[Alpen]

What is everyone's take on this?


As per their report to Congress this month, the secretary of Treasury identify the threats such as North Korea, ransomware actors, sanction evaders and others. However, they also mentioned that Mixers, that there are individuals who use it to protect their financial privacy as we don't like to be followed in blockchain. Does this signal that we might see US shift on their policy with regards to crypto mixer?

The US Treasury Secretary is simply covering for the president's shady dealings. They need mixers to hide family investments coming from the Middle East and other questionable sources.

If the Treasury has suddenly become a 'champion of privacy,' then why haven't they started with Monero and ZCash? Those coins are still banned from US exchanges, even though they offer far better privacy than any mixer.

Let me explain why mixers are a trap using my own experience. I once received BTC through a mixer. After the coins were 'shuffled,' the service sent the funds from random wallets that—surprise, surprise—turned out to be blacklisted addresses. Fortunately, I was using a Cryptomus custodial wallet, and they flagged and blocked the transfer immediately. If I had actually received those coins, I would be the one with the problem. Instead, the sender is the one stuck with frozen funds. That’s the reality of mixers

[FinneysTrueVision]

I don’t really see a pivot there. They wrote a report describing how people use mixers and said that custodial mixers are required to maintain records and report suspicious activity.

These requirements undermine mixers’ whole value proposition. Who in their right mind is going to upload their ID to a database and agree to have their activity monitored just so they can keep their financial data private?

[Ucy]

All the "justifiable" use for mixers listed in the box are most likely for users with compromised anonymity, better yet, users with their real identities exposed, otherwise there will be little to zero need to worry about those things when no one knows who you are.
If someone can determine who you are by your spending habits even though your identity is hidden, you could simply patronize sellers that generate new addresses for their customers, and it will become hard to determine what you are spending your bitcoins on but easy to expose and confisticate coins obtained immorally or through scams.

By the way, anonymitity compromises typically happen when the principles of Bitcoin is not adhered to by users, individuals or businesses, via kyc. This is a violation of part of Bitcoin principles on anonymous use of Bitcoin, or privacy in general but it's allowed to go on. If users real identities have to be included, it should be done through privacy preserving method that makes it almost impossible for anyone but the owners to have access to users real IDs

People like known activists who receive donation in bitcoins are the kind of users that would find it hard to avoid the anonymity compromise, therefore may deserve mixers, but I recommend mixers that have privacy-friendly ways of getting users who do something really bad demasked without ever having access to the users real IDs. And I believe mixers should be accountable to the Bitcoin Community. Governments should always go through the community to get such information (de-anoimized IDs)

[Rikafip]

Does this signal that we might see US shift on their policy with regards to crypto mixer?

Not really, becauuse mixers will have to register with FinCen( US bureau that deals with money laundering and other similar crimes) and report all suspicious transactions, and people who usually these services want to remain anonymous, meaning those kind of mixers will be pointless and no one in their right mind will use them.

[legiteum]

What needs to happen is something akin to the US Bank Secrecy Act that allows small transactions to stay anonymous and only applies scrutiny to very large transactions. Nobody is going to do money laundering or terrorism or criminal stuff with 5 dollars or 140 dollars, or even a few thousand dollars. The BSA creates a limit at $10,000 US after which transactions have higher scrutiny. That seems very sensible, and sounds like a compromise that will work for everybody.

The fact is that 95% of Bitcoin holders these days do so with some kind of app, ETF, or some other system that is personally identified just like any bank account would be. Not too many people want their life savings to end up in a landfill somewhere by accident, or want to be beaten with a $5 wrench to give up everything they've worked for all of their life.

To 99% of consumers, anonymous transactions don't make any sense for anything over $100 or so.

The US Treasury Secretary is simply covering for the president's shady dealings. They need mixers to hide family investments coming from the Middle East and other questionable sources.

I would hope the crypto industry doesn't keep hitching itself to Donald Trump like they did in 2024, because consumers may well turn against everything associated with  this extremely unpopular politician. If they keep going like this we can end up with a situation that will make the FTX fiasco look meaningless. The stuff Trump is doing right now with the corruption and robbing of individuals ($TrumpAndDump) is going to build up a lot of anger among voters eventually.

[Antotena]

I don’t really see a pivot there. They wrote a report describing how people use mixers and said that custodial mixers are required to maintain records and report suspicious activity.

These requirements undermine mixers’ whole value proposition. Who in their right mind is going to upload their ID to a database and agree to have their activity monitored just so they can keep their financial data private?

It's the audacity for US to think the world revolves around. They are like, if you must support and improve privacy, let us know you and how you want to improve the privacy and when there is need to investigate any suspicious activities about your customers, report them to us and we are going to prosecute them. Please I ask, why would anyone want to use mixers with such service? Where is the privacy when too much elongated noses knows what you were protecting from the public.

What if we put some resistance in a way to limit transaction for privacy to reduced the rate at which money laundering are done since that is what they fear. I believe there are legitimate mixers over there that will comply and anyone that doesn't have nothing to hide will still use their services regardless. Otherwise if this is what the call mixers, they can hold their privacy applications, they will get tired one day if they don't do what's necessary.