4 ms·

>CoinBase, an similar anti-privacy company Really? How is looking at public blockchain data at all similar to installing malware?

by finnn 12y ago

scintill76 12y ago
Some Bitcoiners don't like Coinbase's know-your-customer measures for anti money-laundering. Reddit's /r/bitcoin has had reports of people being suprised about what documentation they have to provide; or having their accounts shut down because they withdrew their bitcoins to an address Coinbase determined was connected to something shady, or put a joking reference to drugs in their transaction memo field.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - scintill76 12y ago
    Not much IMO, but I said it because it's probably why this writer (an apparent cryptocurrency enthusiast) calls Coinbase an "anti-privacy company".
- fragsworth 12y ago
  But that's entirely because they have to comply with federal law, not because they're "anti-privacy".
sk_ 12y ago
I suppose the author missed the letter 'd' in this statement.
flatline 12y ago
The very notion of a service like coinbase is problematic, and coinbase's implementation is especially poor for privacy. First, they are taking an inherently trustless system and demanding a very high level of trust for AML/KYC requirements, which is unavoidable when dealing with fiat conversions. Why not just trade directly in bitcoin (of course few people want to do this which is why coinbase exists)? Specifically however, coinbase by default keeps your private keys under their control, which is where the bigger violation is IMO. They push everyone to go through their service and not use bitcoin directly, so they can track and control everything. The blockchain may or may not even be involved in some of their schemes (they offer a fiat-fiat service that supposedly involves bitcoin!). This is inevitable, as they are a company out for profit not an idealistic bunch of ancap hackers, but they are not just looking at public blockchain data. Even their name is a conflation, coinbase is a technical term for the block reward transaction.
driverdan 12y ago
CoinBase does far more than just look at the blockchain. They go beyond know your customer (KYC) requirements and actively 1. Ask users about income sources and Bitcoin usage, even for low volumes far below legal requirements. 2. Monitor and analyze blockchain transactions for activity they disagree with and close accounts with BTC in these chains, with no prior notice and no evidence of wrongdoing. When a company is more aggressive at removing users than Chase bank you know there is a problem.

>CoinBase, an similar anti-privacy company Really? How is looking at public blockchain data at all similar to installing malware?

by finnn 12y ago

>CoinBase, an similar anti-privacy company Really? How is looking at public blockchain data at all similar to installing malware?

scintill76 12y ago

Some Bitcoiners don't like Coinbase's know-your-customer measures for anti money-laundering. Reddit's /r/bitcoin has had reports of people being suprised about what documentation they have to provide; or having their accounts shut down because they withdrew their bitcoins to an address Coinbase determined was connected to something shady, or put a joking reference to drugs in their transaction memo field.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- scintill76 12y ago
  Not much IMO, but I said it because it's probably why this writer (an apparent cryptocurrency enthusiast) calls Coinbase an "anti-privacy company".
fragsworth 12y ago
But that's entirely because they have to comply with federal law, not because they're "anti-privacy".

sk_ 12y ago

I suppose the author missed the letter 'd' in this statement.

flatline 12y ago

The very notion of a service like coinbase is problematic, and coinbase's implementation is especially poor for privacy. First, they are taking an inherently trustless system and demanding a very high level of trust for AML/KYC requirements, which is unavoidable when dealing with fiat conversions. Why not just trade directly in bitcoin (of course few people want to do this which is why coinbase exists)? Specifically however, coinbase by default keeps your private keys under their control, which is where the bigger violation is IMO. They push everyone to go through their service and not use bitcoin directly, so they can track and control everything. The blockchain may or may not even be involved in some of their schemes (they offer a fiat-fiat service that supposedly involves bitcoin!). This is inevitable, as they are a company out for profit not an idealistic bunch of ancap hackers, but they are not just looking at public blockchain data. Even their name is a conflation, coinbase is a technical term for the block reward transaction.

driverdan 12y ago

CoinBase does far more than just look at the blockchain. They go beyond know your customer (KYC) requirements and actively 1. Ask users about income sources and Bitcoin usage, even for low volumes far below legal requirements. 2. Monitor and analyze blockchain transactions for activity they disagree with and close accounts with BTC in these chains, with no prior notice and no evidence of wrongdoing. When a company is more aggressive at removing users than Chase bank you know there is a problem.