I usually try to ensure that there is a steady stream of diverse topics hitting your inbox. However, this will be the third letter in a row that highlights the coordinated attack against bitcoin. Particularly, against self sovereign bitcoin usage.

Earlier today, Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to crack down on bitcoin by "closing loopholes" and "bringing the digital asset ecosystem into greater compliance". The bill, if passed, would extend Bank Secrecy Act responsibilities, particularly KYC/AML data collection, to the providers of open source wallet software, individual miners, and full node operators. It would also make it unlikely for individuals to be able to send bitcoin from sovereign non-custodial wallets to exchanges if they need to sell bitcoin. And if they are able to send from a non-custodial wallet a report will be filed to FinCEN. CoinJoin usage would be officially blackballed by exchanges and financial institutions handling bitcoin. If you send more than $10,000 worth of bitcoin from a wallet deemed to be an offshore account you will need to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts with the IRS.

Pretty terrible all around. Luckily for us though, Elizabeth Warren has an abysmal record of getting bills passed. As Julian Fahrer correctly points out, Elizabeth "Karen" Warren is nothing more than an engagement troll in meat space.

If we're going off of track record, it is safe to assume that this bill will go nowhere. However, when you take a step back and consider the coordinated attack that began a couple of weeks ago it isn't hard to assume that the probability that this may be the first bill she gets passed is above 0%. The timing and execution of the Treasury's letter to the Senate and House committees, the anti-bitcoin buddy-buddy talk between the Senate and executives from the nation's largest banks, and the introduction of this Orwellian bill is a bit unnerving.

Sometimes it feels as if it is impossible to escape the insanity of the fiat world. Despite the fact that the Bank Secrecy Act and the hellscape of KYC/AML compliance regulations that were created in its wake have proven to be wholly ineffective at achieving their stated goals and, instead, created a two-tiered justice system where those who find themselves behind the regulatory moat (the big banks and financial institutions) are able to get away with murder as long as they pay small fines and the Common Man is tracked and surveilled to no end and bagged and tagged for the most inconsequential moves made outside of the eye of Sauron. It's disgusting and it needs to come to an end. Unfortunately, it seems that end will not be met without a nasty fight.

Final thought...

I miss the sun.