i assume those swaps needs KYC, is it true?
Potentially, yes. If a swap goes through Changelly, then we are talking about a service that may conduct AML and SoF checks and ask the user to undergo KYC. This is done on a case by case basis. If the analysis of your coins determines a connection to 'illegal' and 'undesirable' actions, you may be asked to explain yourself.
The fight isn't against criminal activity only. Institutions are fighting privacy and anonymity. So, everything you use that improves the two will be considered suspicious and is unwanted.
That is a good framing of the dilemma, Pmalek.
Various institutions and governments are proclaiming that they are interested in hindering criminal activities, yet there seems to have also been an equating of privacy and/or anonymity with criminal activities.
These do not seem to be easy battles since many of us likely realize that privacy and anonymity remain important to us on an individual level and likely that many folks would end up fighting for privacy and/or anonymity if they were able to recognize and appreciate how extensively privacy and anonymity are being infringed upon in current times in the name of supposed policing of supposedly bad people.
This comment is really thoughtful and it is pointing out the real tension which is between crime fighting and infringement on individual rights like privacy and anonymity has gotten blurry.
Governments and institutions mostly claim their purpose is preventing money laundering or terrorism, while I practice equipment that enhances user privacy—like coin mixers, privacy coins, or basic pseudonymity—mostly receives suspicious treatment by default.
Not as though people are against preventing crime—but we want safer systems—but when privacy-enhancing tools are lumped together with criminal attitude, it sends the message that wanting privacy is on itself suspicious which can discourage users from protecting their own financial information
It is not just about fighting crime—it involves control, surveillance, and how much freedom individuals are allowed to maintain in digital spaces. This is a complicated fight and awareness is the key