Blockchain Association Challenges SEC’s Data Collection Program Over Privacy Concerns

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji is a crypto and tech reporter. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a Bachelor's and a Master's. He has previously interned at HTX (Huobi Global),...

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August 23, 2024 16:42 EDT

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The Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Fund filed an amicus brief on August 23 challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) program.

According to a press release by the Blockchain Association, the CAT program, which seeks to create a centralized database of all securities trades in the U.S., could expose digital asset transactions to extensive scrutiny.

Potential Impact of SEC’s CAT Program

The amicus brief raised significant concerns about the privacy implications of the CAT program, which aims to compile a vast database of all U.S. securities trades.

They argued that the program could jeopardize the privacy of digital asset transactions, especially as the SEC considers many digital asset platforms as brokers or exchanges.

The program’s extensive data collection could link blockchain wallet addresses to personal information, exposing users to unprecedented surveillance of their financial activities.

The brief also cautioned that the CAT program could set a dangerous precedent for government overstepping monitoring financial data. The organizations emphasized that such broad surveillance could undermine individuals’ privacy rights and normalize invasive oversight.

“The CAT program’s sweeping surveillance of personal financial data, including potentially sensitive blockchain transactions, is a significant overreach that threatens to normalize invasive government oversight of our everyday lives,” said Blockchain Association policy counsel Laura Sanders.

“Left unchecked, initiatives like CAT can quietly erode our constitutional rights. The crypto community stands firm against such excessive financial surveillance regimes and urges lawmakers to recognize the broader implications of this particular project.” said Sanders.

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