The US govt could mandate mass surveillance of crypto

In Fall 2021, the US Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) amidst significant backlash from the public. The package contained some deeply misguided provisions addressing cryptocurrency that threatened software developers trying to create alternatives to Big Banks and Big Tech. We at Fight for the Future led much of the opposition through our viral campaign at dontkillcrypto.com and now we’re ready to fight its implementation.

Almost two years later on August 29, the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published their proposed regulations on the sale and exchange of digital assets by brokers as part of their implementation of the IIJA. This rulemaking will define a “digital asset” and who qualifies as a “broker” under the tax code. These new regulations that could mandate the mass surveillance of digital assets which would be a massive blow to our human rights. Compliance with this rule and its reporting requirements would be impossible for some of the people working with this tech. The definition is so broad that it would force developers working on decentralized tech projects to collect info they don't have and certainly don't need. That’s why we’re calling for the government to #StopFinancialSurveillance at https://www.stopfinancialsurveillance.org. We have until October 30th to submit comments so we created this page so that individuals can use to make their voices heard.