“…we’re certainly going to be the cryptocurrency hub of the globe for regulated ETF funds, [but] are we committed to making America the cryptocurrency hub of the globe for peer-to-peer transactions and personal freedom? We ought to be.” -Peter Van Valkenburgh
Following Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm being convicted of conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmitting business and the Samourai Wallet developers accepting a plea agreement, Peter Van Valkenburgh expresses concern that the United States might not achieve its status as the cryptocurrency hub of the globe — at least regarding transactional privacy and peer-to-peer rights.
During my conversation with Van Valkenburgh, we touched on how the outcomes of the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet scandals have jeopardized Americans’ ability to utilize bitcoin and cryptocurrency anonymously.
Moreover, Van Valkenburgh questioned whether advancing measures like the CLARITY Act, which incorporates crucial terminology from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), will sufficiently safeguard creators of noncustodial cryptocurrency technology, some of which enhances privacy.
He also mentioned that the White House’s “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” publication advocates for the enactment of the BRCA, which he described as the “optimal method to prevent prosecutions akin to the Tornado Cash case from recurring.”
Van Valkenburgh emphasized that the money transmission allegations should never have been filed against the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet developers originally, as 2019 FinCEN guidance explicitly states that noncustodial cryptocurrency technology ought not to be classified as money-transmission technology.
“Running a CoinJoin server is somewhat akin to managing Craigslist,” clarified Van Valkenburgh.
“People connect through Craigslist to do things like trade value, but Craigslist isn’t exchanging value — they are merely facilitating connections between individuals who will exchange value on their own,” he added.
Van Valkenburgh contended that the capability for software developers to engineer technologies that enable U.S. citizens to anonymize their bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions without fear of legal repercussions is crucial to realizing President Trump’s aspiration for the United States to become the “cryptocurrency hub of the globe.”
In Van Valkenburgh’s view, the ability to access Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mixers, alongside other forms of noncustodial Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technology, is vital to contemporary Americans’ right to individual freedom.
He posited that without preserving this freedom, the United States is indistinguishable from its rivals.
“We won’t remain America if our financial transactions are completely monitored like they are in China and North Korea,” stated Van Valkenburgh.