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In a recent question and answer session on YouTube, Andreas Antonopoulos expressed his thoughts on initiatives to protect people's identities and personal information using blockchain technology.
Andreas states in the video that although digital identity was a hot topic in the blockchain space, he was "extremely skeptical that you can solve identity problems simply by throwing a magic block at it".
He said the problem is that regulated institutions need to include identity information for things that do not need identity information.
"We use identity to control the risks of fraud in ways that do not control or actually protect against fraud. The fact that you have an identification does not mean that you are trustworthy or that your behavior is good. having behaved well in the past does not mean that you will always behave well in the future. "
Andreas even mentioned that the worst criminals in the world were completely innocent before committing their first crimes.
A good person
Andreas said that in our society, we assumed that if you are identified, then you are a good person. If you are identified and not good, we can pursue you and impose punishments if necessary.
"Both these hypotheses have led to the exclusion of several billion people from the financial system because they have no identification, but several hundred thousand criminals have both identification and bank licenses," he said.
"If you create such a system, those who can issue identification documents become criminals, and ultimately those who control people identify themselves as the biggest criminals of them all."
Fraud and terrorism
Andreas believes that the idea that everyone should be identified before their transaction is relatively recent. He said he did not "effectively reduce fraud or allow governments to stop crime and terrorism".
"It only ensures that the only people who can commit mass crimes against millions of people are those that are financed and supported by governments."
He thought that the side effect of mass poverty (which the identification requirement creates) is much greater than the small advantage one could have in some areas of fraud prevention.
"Obviously, every time I do this conversation with anyone, especially in government as an identification fan, they'll tell you if we only have more control over people, so eventually the crime will be eradicated."
"It's always just a little bit more powerful, more identification, more control for them." If you believe it, then it's the path to fascism, "said Andreas.
It does not support blockchain identification
Andreas said he did not want to identify blockchain and would much rather prefer anonymous cryptocurrencies.
"This gives people the freedom to transact and interact with each other without forcing them to use regulated intermediaries, giving those brokers enormous power with very little benefit to humanity."
