Beerborn on Nostr: How is Strike, Revolut, IBAN KYC broken when using Robosats? When you use Robosats ...
How is Strike, Revolut, IBAN KYC broken when using Robosats?
When you use Robosats there are 4 main groups of payment options, each group provides different levels of anonymity protection and has different tradeoffs.
1) Pay cash in hand p2p. It's the most anonymity preserving option. You meet the seller in person, hand the cash, and get the sats.
Tradeoffs: it's also the hardest to argue if the seller behaves badly. No digital trail means the coordinator has no evidence the cash has been handed. It also comes with personal security risks.
2) Giftcards. Some giftcards are 100% anonymous (can be purchased in a physical shop), some slightly less (only digital).
Tradeoffs: giftcards are less salable than cash, they can only be redeemed for specific things or in specific shops. As a result, there's less demand for them, less liquidity, so the premium is usually higher.
3) Neobanks cash transactions. Options like sending cash to users in platforms like Strike, Revolut, Wise, etc. The platform can see you are sending cash from your account to other platform user. However, if the sats are received in a self-custodial wallet (Zeus, Phoenix, Alby Hub, etc) the platform can't see there's sats being received in exchange. This way the link between sending cash and receiving sats is broken.
Tradeoffs: These platforms are monitored by the corresponding authorities on the different jurisdictions they operate. There are limits to the amount of cash you can send without triggering an automatic report to the authorities of your jurisdiction. Depending on the op-sec of the seller, the link may be not so hard to make (e.g. if they send you the sats from the same platform they use to get paid, the platform can link both transactions even if you chose to receive the sats on a self-custodial wallet)
4) Direct bank transactions (IBAN/SEPA). The link between cash and sats transactions is broken, just like in 3).
Tradeoffs: In addition to all the tradeoffs of 3), your identity is fully exposed to the seller through you bank details.
When you use Robosats there are 4 main groups of payment options, each group provides different levels of anonymity protection and has different tradeoffs.
1) Pay cash in hand p2p. It's the most anonymity preserving option. You meet the seller in person, hand the cash, and get the sats.
Tradeoffs: it's also the hardest to argue if the seller behaves badly. No digital trail means the coordinator has no evidence the cash has been handed. It also comes with personal security risks.
2) Giftcards. Some giftcards are 100% anonymous (can be purchased in a physical shop), some slightly less (only digital).
Tradeoffs: giftcards are less salable than cash, they can only be redeemed for specific things or in specific shops. As a result, there's less demand for them, less liquidity, so the premium is usually higher.
3) Neobanks cash transactions. Options like sending cash to users in platforms like Strike, Revolut, Wise, etc. The platform can see you are sending cash from your account to other platform user. However, if the sats are received in a self-custodial wallet (Zeus, Phoenix, Alby Hub, etc) the platform can't see there's sats being received in exchange. This way the link between sending cash and receiving sats is broken.
Tradeoffs: These platforms are monitored by the corresponding authorities on the different jurisdictions they operate. There are limits to the amount of cash you can send without triggering an automatic report to the authorities of your jurisdiction. Depending on the op-sec of the seller, the link may be not so hard to make (e.g. if they send you the sats from the same platform they use to get paid, the platform can link both transactions even if you chose to receive the sats on a self-custodial wallet)
4) Direct bank transactions (IBAN/SEPA). The link between cash and sats transactions is broken, just like in 3).
Tradeoffs: In addition to all the tradeoffs of 3), your identity is fully exposed to the seller through you bank details.