[Chapter-delegates] EU Data Protection Reform + cryptocurrencies

[Elver Loho]

European Commission is preparing a (highly controversial) data
protection reform package, which some of you may be familiar with.

I was preparing for Friday's govt-organized meetup on the subject when
I took a break to read the news and came across an article about
Bitcoin's #2 user Hal Finney on Forbes and suddenly it clicked:
Bitcoin's entire protocol and structure, with its public blockchain,
are wholly and entirely incompatible with the data protection reform
package.

The public blockchain includes a ton of personal data, which cannot be
deleted or removed, because the entire protocol of this
cryptocurrency, and of other cryptocurrencies, is built on the
assumption that this data cannot be deleted or removed. The underlying
mathematics does not allow for a "right to be forgotten", nor for a
revocation of consent or any such nonsense. Any services built on top
of Bitcoin will invariably process huge amounts of personal data as
defined by the proposed reform package.

We're talking about a cryptocurrency with a current market cap of 7.3
billion USD. As far as I was able to find out googling, nobody has
ever even mentioned the data protection reform in the same article
with any cryptocurrency.

And while this may not be an issue when it comes to personal use of
Bitcoin, I'm pretty sure that if Brussels starts to regulate Bitcoin
from the standpoint of the upcoming data protection package, we can
say goodbye to any and all kind of cryptocurrency innovation happening
in the European Union, maybe globally.

Has anyone on this list given some thought to this aspect of the data
protection reform package or is there anyone else here, who is
familiar with both the reform package and with cryptocurrency
architecture to give an informed opinion on the subject?

If I'm right, this argument might affect the fate of the reform
package or of Bitcoin to a significant degree. I kinda hope I'm wrong.

Best,
Elver
.ee

elver.loho at gmail.com
+372 5661 6933
skype: elver.loho