Good Morning Everyone,
As most of you are probably aware, the ability to custody your bitcoin is at the absolute core of the bitcoin ethos and is as fundamental to bitcoin, as breathing is to life.
You have most likely heard the saying:
“Not your keys, not your cheese”
or
“Not your keys, not your coins”
The understanding of this is demonstrated by the actions you take, and how you secure your keys.
Most people that give custody of their keys to a 3rd party, do so without being aware of the hidden risks, and a true understanding of what they are actually giving up, and in doing so demonstrate a failure to truly understand what this technology enables and how it differs fundamentally from the existing predatory surveillance system.
The on-ramps and off-ramps (exchanges & other 3rd parties) are best thought of as a point of control. They are a gate in which regulators will try to force you to go through, and when you do, strip you of your privacy, enable financial surveillance over you and anyone you interact with and remove your ability to operate pseudonymously by linking wallet addresses to your real world identity.
It’s worth highlighting for anyone that thinks “oh well, i have nothing to hide”, that this is aside from the point. The point is, that if these measures actually achieved what they purport to be solving, we would have rid the world of pedophiles and child traffickers like Jeffery Epstein - but they do not, and obviously this is not the case.
These measures are not in good faith what they are advertised for. They are not only ineffective and dangerous, but are in complete opposition to the the individual freedoms we should all wish to preserve.
In recent weeks there have been some major developments that signal the next major battle ground, as governments and a powerful minority of pseudo-elites continue to fight to prevent the redistribution of power from them in the center, back to the edges, and to maintain their power and control by keeping control of the money.
This next battle ground is your right and ability to self-custody.
Mechanisms like the “Financial Action Task Force" (FATF) Travel Rule and Address Ownership Proof Protocol (AOPP) are likely the first steps of this assault on our right to privately own and hold property.
FATF is a bureaucratic intergovernmental entity that was established in 1989 between G7 nations to combat money laundering. ← check the link to see how well that’s working out..
Address Ownership Proof Protocol (AOPP) is an automated mechanism to provide confirmation that you own an address you are sending to, when sending from a KYD’d exchange platform.
While AOPP seems to be required only by Swiss companies for the time being, it is likely that efforts continue, to link identities to wallet addresses and attempt to remove these rights over time. It has been encouraging to see some pivotal open-source projects including Bluewallet, Sparrow and Trezor reject the implementation of AOPP in response to the communities uproar.
Bitcoin OG Marty Bent put it well in his recent piece.
“Anyone in the "crypto" industry who is eagerly attempting to comply with FATF guidelines should take a moment to employ some introspection and ask why they are here in the first place. Bitcoin was created to completely obliterate this type of demonic control. Those who tell themselves that they align with the mission of Bitcoin should reject FATF guidelines and engage in civil and corporate disobedience.Enough is enough. No more bending the knee to tyranny."
It has never been more critical to educate yourself and get up to speed with what is taking place. Get clarity on why self-custody is fundamental, and take complete and total responsibility - It has never been more important.
I hope you have a great start to your week, and i will chat with everyone tomorrow.
AK
Monday Meme
