Or are there countries where IDs and maybe phone numbers are required before making purchases physically? Imagine how strange it would be to present your ID before buying or selling in physical world. Not sure I've ever been required to present ID before buying or selling, even physical foreign currencies offline. The kyc phenomenon seems to be peculiar to online world and bank transactions.
I think human right to privacy shouldn't be violated in anyway unless the human is involved in serious crimes or some suspicious activities. And even when ID becomes necessary, it should be handled with care to prevent it from going into the wrong hands.
By the way, the kyc issues could make thriving online economically alot difficult for people in certain remote places who probably prefer to have little to zero contact with modern world. This are the kind of people crypto would be more suitable for, unfortunately they will be denied access to lots of cryptocurrency exchanges in existence today.
It's a bit of a false comparison really, because there are plenty of places online where you don't have to supply any form of ID, even more so with bitcoin. It depends what you define as identity information as well, because if you're paying with a credit card you'll often be required to enter the registered address as a form of check that you are the card holder. There are also offline situations, like buying alcohol or cigarettes (age verification) and big purchases like buying an expensive car where you may be expected to provide identity documents. There is no black and white rule, but you're free to avoid a retailer if you don't agree with their policies - sometimes they're required to do these things by law.