The UE busybodies can't go a full day without fixing stuff that isn't broken.

The new Travel Rule is going to cause headaches to crypto users of countries where it applies.

In short, under the Travel Rule, users are required to provide information about incoming transactions.

Namely, you need to list things like legal name, email and phone number of the sender/payor.

Yesterday, I sent a small amount of OP from the hot wallet where I store OP earned on Publish0x to a crypto exchange.

The transaction was listed as "suspended" as the CEX needed more information to confirm my deposit.

They say they need legal name, email and phone number of the sender, but, in practice, I've no idea what they meant, and it's an automated process so it's not like you can speak to a person and ask questions.

Now, the transaction came from my hot wallet which, by definition, doesn't require a name, email or phone number to set up. So I tried providing generic information regarding the wallet, Trust Wallet, which means I provided information about Trust, and then Binance, which operates Trust.

Neither option worked.

So I tried providing information about the transaction from the blockchain. This also didn't work.

So I tried providing information about Publish0x, technically the original payor, and this also didn't work.

Then I had a brainwave and tried a Hail Mary last-resort solution. I simply took a picture of my debit card, because every time I received the error message telling me the info provided wasn't good enough, the page read, "please make sure the last 4 digits of the card and name of the person are legible".

Amazingly, it worked. And I got a message on the screen that read, "your profile has been verified".

Great! Except, it wasn't great, because the transaction is still pending. Still suspended.

The transaction is only worth around $0.70, so not a big deal.

But this has the potential to become a huge deal in the future.

I have a problem with this rule for two reasons.

First, I find it totally unfair. Imagine your bank blocking each and every single wire transfer you receive until you provide info about it? So now with this rule, crypto is actually worse and more convoluted than traditional banking? That's bad.

But second, and more to the point, this rule doesn't work because it's extremely unclear. Imagine somebody moving a significant amount of cash from their cold or hot wallet to a CEX and they're asked to provide info. Info about what?

Central exchanges operating in the UE/EEA need to lobby against this rule because, if they don't, the trouble will start.

First, their support lines will be clogged up with messages from disgruntled people, which means that, second, inflow will go down, and fees will go down.

It will happen. It's just a matter of time. Regardless of what's going to happen with this transaction, I'm assuming and hoping that sooner or later it'll be rejected and sent back or approved and credited, I will no longer be adding money to this particular exchange. I already found an alternative solution.

Once again, it goes to show, the UE is nicely summarised by the invention of the idiotic bottle cap that stays attached to the bottle once you open it.

They're constantly taking stuff that works, and making it worse.