Privacy is not the core feature of Bitcoin — KuCoin CEO

Amid KuCoin change making ready to undertake necessary Know Your Buyer (KYC) checks, the firm’s CEO argued that privateness is not the most essential feature of Bitcoin (BTC).

“With regards to the goal of Bitcoin creation, I believe privateness is only one of its options,” KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu instructed Cointelegraph in an interview on July 4.

As an alternative of privateness, the core profit of Bitcoin is a unit of change, which permits holders to hedge in opposition to recessions, Lyu mentioned. The CEO talked about that Bitcoin was created after the 2008 financial crisis, which was triggered by the United States subprime mortgage disaster. “These occasions led to the beginning of Bitcoin,” Lyu famous.

Whereas some could consider that overly strict KYC practices are not good for customers as they might restrict one’s privateness, the KuCoin CEO believes that such insurance policies are extra helpful than not, as they enhance the safety of customers’ funds.

“KYC is aimed to guard the belongings of the public and to make sure that belongings are protected on two completely different ranges,” Lyu mentioned, including:

“The primary stage is possession, so you realize that the cash is yours. And the second stage is that you may really observe your belongings in the case of theft. So in the event you misplaced your belongings, we’ll be capable to observe the supply and ensure the supply is clear.”

The cryptocurrency business will probably be more and more interacting with the bodily world, which is why compliance is essential, the KuCoin CEO went on to say.

“So in essence, in the entire improvement cycle of crypto, I’d say that KYC, it is a stage that is inevitable, and it is very wholesome as nicely,” Lyu added.

KuCoin formally introduced in late June that it might be introducing mandatory KYC checks for all new users on its platform ranging from July 15, 2023. With out finishing KYC, newly registered customers will not be capable to entry KuCoin’s services and products. At the similar time, current non-KYC customers will nonetheless be capable to commerce, however will probably be restricted from depositing new funds.

The brand new KYC restrictions at KuCoin are prone to have an effect on the platform’s buying and selling volumes in the quick time period, the CEO instructed Cointelegraph.

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“We perceive that in the quick run, as the guidelines change into extra stringent and strict to sure prospects, some could depart,” Lyu mentioned. Nevertheless, KuCoin stays bullish on compliance on crypto exchanges in the long run, he added, stating:

“However in the long term, extra compliant funds and customers will enter this business in the future, which is equal to opening the door for everybody higher and making customers safer.”

In response to KuCoin, the platform at present has 27 million customers, which is a 35% improve from the quantity of customers it had one 12 months in the past. Following the KYC improve announcement, KuCoin’s buying and selling volumes considerably edged up from round $540 million to greater than $660 million at the time of writing, according to information from CoinGecko.

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