Around these parts, your bank account gets blocked if not verified every 5 years...
Neither can you simply acquire a pre-paid cell number without verification.
Surely it's the first signs that BitCoin is currently being taken much more seriously that originally expected.
yeah, I'm fine with banks and such doing verification.
my bank and telco are in my local jurisdiction and have to follow the EU directives on privacy, data protection, etc.
Plus, if they get hacked and I lose money as a result, they're obligated to refund the cost.
They can even get fined if they don't take the necessary precautions.