Government Tracking of Crypto Is Growing, But There Are Ways to Avoid It

There are still ways to remain anonymous in crypto for those who want to keep a low profile, despite the best efforts of governments in the US, Russia, Japan, and elsewhere.

As the most recent example of government crypto monitoring, the Japanese National Police Agency announced plans to implement a system that can reportedly "Track" cryptocurrency transactions within Japan.

Even though the IRS hasn't explicitly acknowledged its employment of Chainalysis or any other service, it's also interesting to note that past instances where an agency of the federal US government has succeeded in tracking crypto users have potentially involved input from the NSA. In October 2013, Ross Ulbricht was arrested by FBI agents in San Francisco and then charged with conspiracy to traffic narcotics, money laundering, and computer hacking.

Whatever the truth behind Ulbricht's conviction, it's clear that the NSA has had the ability to covertly identify Bitcoin users for over five years, while it's also true that other US agencies have been tracking crypto transactions.

While Yicai could confirm via sources at PINSS that such monitoring had been underways since September 2017, it couldn't explain just what kind of monitoring was being pursued, or whether the Chinese government was actively trying to identify individuals trading in crypto.

Still, whatever the extent of the surveillance involved, the knowledge that other nations are tracking crypto would indicate that Chinese traders should also add themselves to the growing list of 'people who ought to be careful.

This provided a clear signal that the government was indeed tracking cryptocurrency transactions, something which it had begun contemplating in July 2017, when India's Supreme Court demanded information from it and the Reserve Bank of India on the steps being taken to ensure that crypto isn't being used for illicit purposes.

Even if there's currently no public record of other governments investigating the potential for tracking systems, it's highly probable that those governments with a significant interest in crypto have contemplated a tracking system in one form or another.

A choice of privacy coins is available for anyone worried about the growing ability of governments to track crypto transactions.

So even though cryptocurrency tracking is increasing, crypto investors and holders needn't be overly fearful of government surveillance.