Comment by BaseballPhysics | Hacker News Reader

Comment by BaseballPhysics | Hacker News Reader

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BaseballPhysics

> That's because when most people use "blockchain" or "DeFi" they're using AML/KYC entities that post their transaction logs to public servers. Law enforcement eats this up because it saves them the trouble of getting warrants for investigations.

Well, except for the important detail that KYC requirements don't preclude the need for warrants...

> They (loudly, incessantly) proclaim to their friends the benefits of a new money paradigm while deriving all sustenance through the umbilical cord of OldFi.

Yeah, it's almost like crypto can't possibly be a fully self-contained ecosystem, and thus it must by necessity have integration points with the rest of the world. Who could have ever predicted that...

> Well, except for the important detail that KYC requirements don't preclude the need for warrants...

Banks and law enforcement frequently share data without caring about warrants. One example: if you send a $10K wire (in the US), your bank may voluntarily submit a Suspicious Activity Report. And since they may be liable if they choose not to report, but are not liable if they do report, guess which option they typically choose?

Warrants are not a high a hurdle in practice when they are needed. The US has the third-party doctrine, so all information you've communicated to someone does not need a warrant unless otherwise protected. In the US you need to establish real probable cause (otherwise the fruit may be poisoned), but PC is a low legal standard. Non-US jurisdictions don't use the fruit of the poisoned tree doctrine and so the actual legal standard is more like "arguing probable cause for the warrant shouldn't look like an outright perversion of justice". The world's best limbo performer can't dance under that bar.

Hell with KYC a government imposed search of your papers is dictated by law without even a warrant/PC/RAS. Where I live, you can legally carry a concealed gun in a bank without ID but you can't open a damn account and put $20 even with a US passport (without some proof of address).

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