As financial surveillance expands and global regulators seek stricter controls, cryptocurrency advocates warn that the fight for digital privacy is entering a critical phase. In the latest episode of the Clear Crypto Podcast, Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director of Coin Center, described the current moment as a turning point.

Peter stated, "In Washington, D.C., the stakes are higher, but not necessarily better for everyone." He noted that cryptocurrency has become more mainstream but also more polarized, with a shift in the political atmosphere.

Coin Center was established in 2014 and has long served as an independent voice in the cryptocurrency policy sphere. At that time, lawmakers began to question Bitcoin (BTC).

"Thus, the purpose of Coin Center's establishment was to be a trusted voice to explain this to lawmakers considering legislation."

Peter emphasized the organization's narrow mission: to defend the rights of developers and users to publish code and run decentralized networks.

He warned that these transactions are increasingly threatened by global financial surveillance systems. "When the U.S. Treasury says you need to collect all information about your customers… it often gets passed on to international organizations like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and requires every other country to collect all this private information as well," he said.

Peter also highlighted the importance of privacy-enhancing technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs. "We must build zero-knowledge in from the start," he warned, stating that without changes, "identity will become useless because we will never know if we are dealing with a real person or a bot that purchased [your] driver's license on the dark web."

For Peter, privacy is not just a technical challenge but also a cultural challenge.

Related: Australia to test central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoins in the next phase of its cryptocurrency program

Original article: Is Privacy Crypto's Last Stand? Industry Experts Comment on the Legal Battles Ahead

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