Is Blockchain a Threat to the Established Order? One-Way Transparency in the United States

Concerns over comments made by American prosecutors, while we wrote a few lines not long ago, about the necessity of transparency. Our colleagues at Bitcoin Magazine feel the issue between the United States and Roman Sterlingov. The difficulties that the European Union seems to want to impose on privacy advocates.

United States of America v. Roman Sterling

Inساميtor of the cryptocurrency mixing tool has disclosed some data provided by Chain Analysis to the public. The article discusses the case of the United States against Roman Sterlingov, the operator of Bitcoin Fog. According to the US government, the transparency provided by blockchain technology can be perceived as a current threat. The relevant data is not disclosed here.

The American prosecution’s argument is based on the belief that the main activity of the accused was aiding money laundering. Since Mr. Sterlingov is accused of operating in the shadows for a decade, allowing him access to data that could lead to countermeasures to help him continue evading the law would have adverse consequences and contradict the public interest.

As noted by Bitcoin Magazine, these comments were made while illegal cryptocurrency transactions accounted for only 0.24% of all transactions, according to the latest report from Chainalysis. Therefore, it would be in the interest of the majority to understand the nuances and generalities of this matter. Oh, but I forgot, no one asked for our opinion.

End-to-end encryption or the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) is also facing challenges in Europe, as it is in the United States, across the Atlantic (at least for now) under the First and Fourth Amendments to the US Constitution. Closer to home, the situation is less encouraging.

If the comments made by the American prosecutors in this story may be surprising or intimidating, they should not be generalized more than necessary.

The use of tools aimed at protecting privacy (encrypted messaging, VPNs) is considered a normal practice, and it’s natural to revisit this topic.

To be continued.