TechFlow, Dec 16 — According to The Block, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins warned during the sixth roundtable meeting of the SEC Crypto Task Force that blockchain technology is particularly effective at linking transactions to senders, and if headed in the wrong direction, cryptocurrencies could become "the most powerful financial surveillance architecture ever created."
Atkins stated that treating every wallet as a broker, every software as an exchange, and every transaction as a reportable event would turn the ecosystem into a "financial panopticon," though he believes a balance can be achieved between national security and individual privacy.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce also emphasized: "Protecting privacy should be the norm, not an indicator of criminal intent. The government should resist the temptation to compel intermediaries merely to establish regulatory footholds or facilitate financial surveillance."
