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Comment by kragen

13 hours ago

It's really unfortunate that KYC regulations required Coinbase to have this information in the first place. We should be establishing strong social norms against sharing PII without a legitimate reason; this is not just an individual theft risk but a national security risk. Coinbase doesn't pay into your Social Security account, so they shouldn't have your Social Security number. They don't visit your house, so they shouldn't have your address. Etc.

Historically, although KYC regulations were widespread in Communist countries, they were unthinkable in most democratic countries until 9/11, which provided spy agencies with their golden chance to write their wishlist into law. But unfortunately that helps foreign spy agencies just as much as, maybe more than, it helps domestic ones.

In https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer#Laws_by_cou... you can see when they were introduced in different countries.

6 comments

kragen

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dowager_dan99  12 hours ago

Let's hear you repeat this position after your Coinbase account is compromised and you're looking for recourse.

  • kragen  12 hours ago

    You seem to believe that AML/KYC regulation exists to benefit customers or to prevent or recover from account compromises. It does not, and I have no idea why you would think it does. Something like a Yubikey or iris-scanning stations could help to prevent Coinbase account compromises, but AML/KYC regulations do not require or even encourage them, though perhaps someday they will.