I remember when Bitcoin was gaining movement, one of the reasons given for an alternative like Bitcoin was Privacy and to avoid high fees and monopoly by Banks/Credit Card companies.

Yesterday I had an unusual experience.

My Wallet is with Bitpay and they charged me 38% and 56% fees on two different occasions for buying some rare comics in exchange for Bitcoins. They called it Miners fees. I was stunned as I had never paid a fees that high, ever!

Recently Paxful announced that it is making IDs compulsorily for everyone, which throws Privacy into the drain. Many Wallets now require you to send them verification to be able to deposit and withdraw. Although I did the verification, I am not very happy about the entire process, especially where the entire Crypto ship is heading towards. I know people misuse the n/w and stuff, but why do we need an alternative payment when we are going back to the same reasons which led to Crypto birth.

How do you maintain Privacy amidst all these rules and regulations?

What is happening?