Edward Snowden criticized Coinbase for excessive compliance with regulatory requirements

Former American intelligence analyst Edward Snowden believes that the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange is overly seeking to comply with the requirements of regulators, not caring about the interests of customers.

At Camp Decrypt 2022, Edward Snowden began to talk about the development of the Internet, which has undergone dramatic changes over several decades. Previously, people used dial-up modems, but now they can access the network using a smartphone. However, the Internet is not only a place where you can access a huge amount of information and communicate with different people. With its help, corporations and governments collect user data, and this comes from the fact that corporations do not put the interests of customers first, Snowden resents.

Edward Snowden is known for revealing in 2013 about the secret PRISM program used by the US intelligence agencies to collect information about Internet users in bulk. According to a former employee of the US National Security Agency (NSA), a similar trend is observed when working with cryptocurrencies. In particular, Snowden noted the trading platform Coinbase, for which, in his opinion, compliance with regulatory requirements is more important than the fundamental concept of cryptocurrencies – privacy.

Coinbase management believes that working with regulators is necessary for the widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies as an asset class. Last year, Coinbase even proposed the creation of a separate agency that would oversee the operation of cryptocurrency companies.

“Coinbase is a typical example of an overly accommodating and indulgent person. Yes you guys will make a lot of money, but are you really promoting the public interest? Take the example of conventional lawn mowers. When I go to buy a lawn mower, no one asks me to hold my passport and scan my face. And the fact that you guys agree with that is frankly embarrassing,” Snowden said.

He noted that his appeal applies to all cryptocurrency exchanges that track user funds. Snowden believes that if companies are looking to attract as many people as possible to the Web3 sector, it must do so in a way that does not compromise the ideals that have attracted users to the industry. Data verification is the job of the police and intelligence services, not cryptocurrency exchanges, the analyst concluded.

Recall that in July, Coinbase denied rumors about the sale of user data to the US government, saying that the exchange tools are used only to investigate financial crimes.