On FINCEN #It'sOn Please find my heartfelt objection to FINCEN-2023-0016. My main argument is centered on the law of unintended consequences. As we know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. On the face of it, this proposal seems sensible and maybe even a no-brainer. However, after a thorough reading of it and a good understanding of how it intends to enforce the rules, if not outright banning the use of virtual currency defined as Anonymity-Enhanced Convertible Virtual Currency (AECVC), I am extremely moved to act. This proposal can lead our great nation, if not the world, on the road to ruin. This caution to legislatures should not be taken lightly. Once laws like these are adopted, the impact to the financial wellbeing of individuals will be put at great risk, leading to an economy that will be on life support and sure to extinguish any hope of life, if not in this generation, then definitely the next. My words might read as ominous, and unnecessarily alarmist. However, before you dismiss this comment as unthoughtful or harsh, be reminded that there is a reason why crime enforcement is a hard business. The complexity that comes with solving any crime, including financial ones, is a feature not a bug. There is a fine line between trampling over people's civil rights and human dignity in the service of abolishing crime. There is a reason that in America, innocence is presumed and guilt is proven. These ideas as not antiquates notions; rather these are the very foundation underpinning our republic. Also, remember our union as a nation is a grand experiment, and we, the inheritors of the American constitution, are charged to defend and uphold it. Should we lose sight of this heavy burden and relinquish this responsibility, in the name of "justice" and "goodness", we will find ourselves in a world we don't recognize and no longer wish to inhabit. The reason our society works, why the world want to come and live in America, is because of our openness to new ideas and innovative thinking. That includes technology. Indeed, technology is the driving force of our economic success and has helped lift millions of souls out of poverty the world over. This is thanks mainly to America. That is the American Exceptionalism at its finest. To accuse the new developments in the dematerialization of money into the digital realm, as somehow dangerous and criminal is to, at best, to miss the point, and at worst, to condemn the American people to a fate worst than death, destitution. That is not what America is based on. That is not what our moral fabric rests on. That is not what compelled good people to leave their homeland and seek refuge and a better life. That is not the Statue of Liberty. We need to safeguard our freedom, paid for heavily with our children's blood, and keep our doors open to those who provide us with marvels that propel us into a bright future, complete with digital solutions that clear the path and remove the friction of modern day banking and financial prisons. This proposal which focuses blindly on the fact that criminals may be using these same innovations to commit their crimes, is lazy-thinking and short-sighted. As we all know, criminals operate in all facets of life, making use of everyday tools from the kitchen knife, to plastic bags to fancy Swiss accounts denominated in dollars, euros and sterling pounds. A half-hearted search on the world wide web will yield dozens of world famous banks and institutions that were caught red-handed collaborating with the enemy, that forever elusive crime boss and his/her minions. In the face of this, we don't ban knives, plastic bags or the dollar. We don't weaponize these modern necessities to eliminate crime; we understand that most of the time, people use these things for good, to live a good life and put food on the table to nourish their family. Why then legislate to curtail the use of the latest phenomena that liberate the world from the shackles of financial abuse that we have endured for far too long? What are you saying to the American public with this proposal? Are you trying to trap them in a never-ending cycle of debt and servitude to the banks and money managers? Is this really the future you want for your kids, grandkids? Is this the world you want to live in? I started this comment by saying, beware the results of half-baked ideas, meant for good, but sure to harm. Putting regulations on AECVC is tying a noose on the neck of our economic life and soon our own material life. There is the famous example of the luddites who feared the advent of the loom which put them out of business as textile manual workers. They set about putting the new technology on fire, to secure their way of life into the future. They failed and thank god they did. Do not be the new luddites, do not set fire on virtual currencies. Let the people decide freely what money they want. After all, we are the land of the free, home of the brave. What are you really afraid of?