I wanted to try paying for Mullvad VPN using a private method (Monero). I created a wallet and went to an exchange (Kraken) to buy some XMR, but they want me to enter all my personal details upon registration. How does this make sense? Is there an exchange where I don't have to provide personally identifying information?
They are bound by anti money laundering laws (AML) and are required to Know Your Customers (KYC).
https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us/articles/know-your-customer-kyc-questionnaire
Yes it does compromise privacy because now when the exchange is asked who owns this wallet they have to hand your details to law enforcement.
Exchanges without KYC are getting rarer.
I avoid KYC exchanges at all cost. I am less concerned about law enforcement in this case and much more about leaks.
There are ways to get Monero without compromising your identity. I suggest looking or asking here: https://monero.town/c/monero
The exchange will see that you bought Monero. They won't see how you spent it
Unless you pay from the exchange's wallet
In America, you "have to" due to government regulation(IRS wants their cut of the tendies).
Even more so, FBI wants to know where the money grandma gave to get her pictures back from the ransomware went.
All this money tracking stuff AFAIK was originally more about organized crime than tax revenue.
Not all of America has these laws.
I mean, what do you expect?
Use P2P instead
I'm just learning about all this. Looks like P2P is what I want. Thanks
Offer a product/service on XMRBazaar, join the Get Your First XMR matrix room and then once you have at least 0.11XMR you can use Haveno
Pardon my lack of knowledge, what is P2P? Is it mining monero?
Instead of having a central server, consumers interact with each other directly. That's P2P Vs centralization.
bisq or I think local Montero are no kyc. just send some dude some money through like PayPal and they'll send you the monero
Localmonero died recently :( Haveno is the one that is taking its place.
whattt what happened?
It was soon after Samourai arrests, so apparently the owners got scared of potential cryptocurrency crackdown and legal pressure. Its closure was pretty abrupt.
The only way you won't have to provide PII is if you buy it from someone outside of the exchange ecosystem (from somebody face to face with cash or a gift card (note: Local Bitcoin has been gone for about a year now)). Exchanges have to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) laws if they want to operate in the US, which is why they're asking for PII.
That brings it's own share of risks as well. Like getting scammed for example.
There are dedicated events in the crypto scene, where people meet to sell and buy directly from each other To avoid KYC
here's an i2p magnet link to the irs chain analysis talk from last year:
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:d371d4e4cb9a3760ef79e94fde0b8edf22062e49&tr=http://tracker2.postman.i2p/announce.php&dn=chainalysis-monero-presentation-to-irs-august-2023.av1.webm
gives some insight into how they do it with their analysis tool. i'll let you draw your own conclusions based on your own risk profile, but if you're a target and they have enough confidence with the tool, they could grow a profile and subpoena the target exchange for kyc.
The only exchange I can think of might be Pancake Swap, but I'm not sure. You could trade coin with anyone who gets theirs from actual miners. I think this is probably the only way to fully avoid KYC.
I would not pay for a VPN, personally.
No, it makes no sense. Keep looking. Worst case, buy some locally for cash.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
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