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\u201c\u2026we\u2019re definitely going to be the crypto capital of the world for regulated ETF funds, [but] are we serious about making America the crypto capital of the world for peer-to-peer transactions and individual liberty? We should be.\u201d<\/em> -Peter Van Valkenburgh<\/p>\n After Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm was found guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business<\/a> and the Samourai Wallet developers accepted a plea deal<\/a>, Peter Van Valkenburgh is concerned that the United States may not become the crypto capital of the world \u2014 at least as far as transactional privacy and peer-to-peer rights<\/a> are concerned.<\/p>\n In my interview with Van Valkenburgh, we discussed how the outcomes of the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet cases have put Americans\u2019 ability to use bitcoin and crypto anonymously at risk.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Van Valkenburgh brought up whether or not pressing legislation like the CLARITY Act<\/a>, which borrows key language from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA)<\/a>, will be enough to protect developers of noncustodial crypto technology, some of which is privacy-enhancing.<\/p>\n He also noted how the White House\u2019s \u201cStrengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology\u201d<\/a> report calls for the passage of the BRCA, which he said is the \u201cbest way to stop prosecutions like the Tornado Cash prosecution from happening [again].\u201d<\/p>\n Van Valkenburgh added that the money transmission charges should have never even been brought against the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet developers in the first place, as 2019 FinCEN guidance<\/a> clearly states that noncustodial crypto technology should not be classified as money-transmission technology.<\/p>\n \u201cOperating a CoinJoin<\/a> server is kind of like running Craigslist,\u201d explained Van Valkenburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople meet on Craigslist and do things like exchange value, but Craigslist isn\u2019t exchanging value \u2014 they\u2019re just connecting people who are going to exchange value themselves,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Van Valkenburgh argued that this ability for software developers to create technology that helps U.S. citizens anonymize their bitcoin and crypto transactions without fear of prosecution is key to fulfilling President Trump\u2019s vision of the United States becoming the \u201ccrypto capital of the world.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n According to Van Valkenburgh, being able to use Bitcoin and crypto mixers, as well as other types of noncustodial Bitcoin and crypto technology, is essential to modern-day Americans\u2019 right to individual liberty.<\/p>\n Without maintaining this liberty, he argued, the United States is no different than its adversaries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t be America anymore if we have fully surveilled financial transactions like they do in China and North Korea,\u201d said Van Valkenburgh.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n