There are currently rumors circulating that before the end of the year, the US Treasury intends to ban anonymous self-hosted wallets, a critical component of any decentralized cryptocurrency network. Self-hosted wallets are apps like Mycelium Wallet, and Metamask, as well as hardware wallets like Ledger. These apps and devices are the foundation of the crypto economy. They provide ease of use, anonymity, and security to the end-user. If we lose anonymous self-hosted wallets, the magic of cryptocurrency falls apart, and we are left with a needlessly complex version of Paypal or Apple pay. Even if you disagree with cryptocurrency, or don’t see any utility in the tech, understand that an attack on cryptocurrency systems is an attack on privacy, and free expression.

A move like this places companies like Coinbase and Gemini at an extreme advantage, making them, and companies like them, a mandatory gatekeeper to transact cryptocurrency, and enables financial surveillance unlike anything the world has ever seen. Destruction of the open and anonymous nature of cryptocurrency stands to kill off one of our best chances of creating alternatives to the predatory practices of Big Tech and Big Banks. It is critical that the Treasury does not move forward with any plans to ban anonymous self-hosted wallets.

Sign the petition to tell U.S. Treasury and Secretary Mnuchin: “Do not hold back the evolution of cryptocurrency and decentralized platforms. Abandon any plans to ban anonymous self-hosted wallets.”