Kyc is the total opposite of what crypto represent when it comes to anonymity and privacy, before the introduction of kyc, using crypto is suppose to give users some level of anonymous and privacy to transact but that features has been greatly reduced with the help of kyc, however, we can not overlook the many security issues associated with crypto, although I think kyc should be restricted to exchange only and not from the project,
Because we have many different project in the market by the time people are required to do kyc for any project they intend to participate in will mean submitting personal information to too many unknown people which is not healthy and very risky, so the issue of kyc has it good and bad side, but at the end security is important.
That's certainly true, mate. Personally, I've been skeptical about KYC since it open the doors for hackers to steal your utmost personally identifiable information for illicit activities. Governments require this in order to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, but it totally defeats the purpose crypto was invented for. Considering that the entire crypto/Blockchain space is dependent on centralized infrastructure, you cannot trade crypto without submitting your ID to centralized exchanges. This is mostly required when trading crypto to Fiat, greatly introducing a security risk as we speak. So far, it's the only path to take if you want to cash out your crypto for your own financial gain.
Shapeshift and nearly every other popular exchange within the crypto/Blockchain space are required to comply with KYC if they want to keep their businesses operational. That's the not case with decentralized exchanges as they're not operated by a middleman. Maybe with the introduction of atomic swaps, there will be no need to go through KYC for crypto trades? Even without atomic swaps, it's still possible to cash out your crypto without KYC in a P2P manner. This route will be used by most crypto enthusiasts like you and me. But the average Joe will have to go through the hurdles of KYC just to get access in and out of crypto as we speak.
Nonetheless, time will tell us if KYC compliance is worth the government's efforts on the crypto space. The least they could do is declare crypto illegal for mainstream use (if KYC fails in the long run). But Blockchain networks will continue to operate regardless of government's actions within the mainstream world. Just my thoughts