A few weeks ago, I dropped in on the Coin Center guys in D.C. They are doing some great work educating politicians and regulators about cryptocurrencies and related technologies, such as public blockchains. One of the guys I met on that visit was Peter Van Valkenburgh (in the middle of the picture below). Peter is one of those rare lawyer-geeks. He not only understands the technical underpinnings of Bitcoin and Zcash and other cryptos, but he can explain it to the average layman.
More importantly, Peter has an excellent grasp on the social implications of these relatively new technologies. If nothing else, he knows the questions the politicians and regulators should be asking, and more often than not, he is successful at guiding their understanding toward regulatory regimes that are more effective and beneficial than what we might otherwise see as a result of typical knee-jerk reactions to “scary” new technologies.
All this is to preface the real point of this post–to share Peter’s latest blog piece on your secret right to cash. This is really must-read stuff for everyone. Peter voices far more eloquently than I ever could how we need to stop for a moment and at least have a frank discussion before we rush more deeply into a state of total financial surveillance. Please take a moment to read this important post. Your privacy–indeed, your very freedom–might well be at stake.