
As inflation and economic disruption increase around the world, ostensibly stable governments look to increase controls on cryptocurrency. In particular, states loathe what they call "unhosted wallets," meaning cryptocurrency that is totally owned and maintained by an individual, as opposed to a regulated business that they can control.
The European Union is making moves to crack down on such self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets. What they are proposing would be equivalent to making businesses maintain dossiers on anyone who chooses to pay with cash. It's an incredible ratchet in financial surveillance and an unjustifiable attack on individual privacy.