💭 Thought Experiment: Financial Privacy in 2025 If cash is disappearing, banks offer no privacy, and privacy tools are being prosecuted… is financial surveillance becoming unavoidable? And if so — how does someone protect their privacy without becoming a criminal? Because today, the landscape looks like this: 📜 Legal Reality • Bank Secrecy Act (1970) + Patriot Act (2001): Banks are legally required to report your financial activity (SARs, CTRs). The Supreme Court (U.S. v. Miller, 1976) ruled you have no constitutional right to privacy over your bank records. • Using cash? Still legal — but increasingly impractical in a digital economy. Many countries are actively reducing cash use or setting limits. • Using privacy tech? Developers of tools like Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash are being charged under unlicensed money transmission (18 U.S.C. §1960) or money laundering statutes, even if they never held customer funds. 📍 Financial Privacy — Two Paths 1️⃣ Comply with the System • Fully legal (banks, exchanges, future CBDCs) • No real financial privacy — all transactions monitored • Banks are required by law to report activity (Bank Secrecy Act, Patriot Act, SAR/CTR reports) • Supreme Court case U.S. v. Miller (1976) — you have no constitutional right to privacy over bank records • Clear message: “You can use money… but only if you’re willing to be watched” 2️⃣ Use Financial Privacy Tools (self-custody, mixing, non-KYC Bitcoin) • Offers higher privacy and true ownership • But increasingly treated as suspicious or criminal • Developers of Samourai Wallet, Tornado Cash, etc. charged under 18 U.S.C. §1960 (unlicensed money transmission) and anti-money laundering laws • You can be legal, but appear on a radar — or be accused of “facilitating crime” • Implied message: “If you want privacy, you must accept legal risk” ⸻ 🧠 The Real Question: If one path means surveillance and the other means potential criminalization… Do we still treat privacy as a right — or just a permission the state can revoke?