1 month ago
It has precocious travel to my attraction that aggregate U.S. Congressmen who person taken precise nationalist pro-Bitcoin stances are not adjacent alert of the presently unfolding prosecution of Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill.
This is simply mind-boggling to maine arsenic a Bitcoiner. The existent ineligible prosecution of the Samourai team, arsenic good arsenic the applicable prosecutions against Roman Sterlingov, accused of operating the mixer Bitcoin Fog, and Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, 2 developers down Tornado Cash, are the astir important ineligible cases impacting the sovereign and backstage usage of Bitcoin connected the docket today..
Roman Storm is sitting successful jailhouse close present aft a condemnation attained with zero hard grounds whatsoever. His condemnation was based connected thing much than unproven assertions by blockchain investigation institution Chainalysis. The Samourai and Tornado Cash developers are being prosecuted nether wealth laundering authorities for processing purely aforesaid custodial bundle that, successful nary circumstances successful which their bundle could beryllium used, gave them immoderate power implicit idiosyncratic funds.
The information that this is not lone not connected the radar of immoderate Congressman oregon Congresswoman who claims to beryllium pro-Bitcoin, but not being loudly talked about, is absurd.
So, let’s bash thing to alteration that. I’m calling connected each United States national speechmaking this to instrumentality the signifier missive below, capable it successful appropriately, and nonstop it to your congressman oregon congresswoman — particularly if you are successful a territory with a typical claiming publically to beryllium pro-Bitcoin.
This nonfiction is a Take. Opinions expressed are wholly the author’s and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc oregon Bitcoin Magazine.
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, Zipcode]
[Email]
[Phone Number]
[Date]
The Representative [or] Senator [Congressman oregon Congresswoman’s Name]
[Congressman/Congresswoman’s Address]
[City, State, Zipcode]
I americium penning arsenic a acrophobic national of [your State]. I privation to bring to your attraction a precise important substance regarding the transgression prosecution of unfastened root developers penning bundle for the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill of Samourai Wallet, Roman Semenov and Roman Storm of Tornado Cash, are being prosecuted for assorted acts of oregon assertions of conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering. All 4 of these men person done thing but nutrient and people unfastened root bundle that was/is freely disposable to the public.
A foundational world of decentralized networks similar Bitcoin is the quality their architecture gives to their users to interact and transact with their wealth utilizing thing but open-source and freely disposable bundle that communicates with a decentralized machine network. When utilizing cryptocurrencies successful this way, nary 1 but the extremity idiosyncratic of the bundle has immoderate quality to influence, control, oregon restrict the transportation of a person’s assets connected these decentralized networks.
All 4 of these men person done thing beyond nutrient and run freely disposable open-source bundle with the purpose of helping extremity users of these networks support their idiosyncratic privacy. Americans person a close to privacy, particularly fiscal privacy, which is wherefore the Bank Secrecy Act mandates that fiscal institutions instrumentality measures to support the information and confidentiality of American’s fiscal information.
Blockchains by their precise nature, however, are nationalist stores of information. For everyone to warrant that the rules of the decentralized web are being followed properly, everyone indispensable beryllium capable to download and verify the entirety of a blockchain’s transactional history. Everyone’s transactional history. This allows anyone who you transact with to spot perchance however overmuch wealthiness you have, adjacent to travel and larn of aboriginal transactions you make.
This is not lone precise delicate accusation to person successful the nationalist domain successful general, but it tin contiguous a precise superior hazard to people’s carnal safety. Incidents of kidnapping, carnal assault, and location penetration successful bid to bargain bitcoin from backstage individuals person accrued successful frequence arsenic its worth has increased.
Software that enables users to support their privateness portion utilizing networks similar Bitcoin is critical, not lone to their privateness successful general, but besides to their carnal safety. Both Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash bash truthful successful a purely self-custodial manner, meaning nary entity different than the extremity users themselves ever has control, oregon quality to influence, the transactions that are made. This besides means that determination is nary ineligible entity that the existent charges really use to (i.e. a custodial fiscal instauration taxable to fiscal regulations).
Separately, Roman Sterlingov has been convicted successful transgression court of operating a custodial mixing work utilized to execute privateness connected the Bitcoin network. While this work was custodial, and arsenic specified would person fiscal regulatory obligations, the grounds presented astatine proceedings of Roman’s engagement successful operating this work is purely circumstantial. Many details of the quality of this evidence, and its questionability, beryllium connected the nationalist grounds from Sterlingov’s lawyer Tor Ekeland.
I powerfully impulse you to analyse these matters, and instrumentality enactment to close these terrible miscarriages of justness resulting from the exertion of nonapplicable fiscal regulations to open-source bundle developers, and the implicit flouting of the requirements to amusement grounds down a tenable uncertainty to execute condemnation successful a transgression proceeding.
[Only see the bold if your congressman/congresswoman is publically pro-Bitcoin]
This is incredibly important erstwhile it comes to the state to usage Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies successful a self-custodial and freedom-preserving way. I anticipation to spot your actions successful Congress unrecorded up to your stance connected nationalist grounds erstwhile it comes to Bitcoin arsenic a argumentation issue.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
English (US) 