US administration finalized a rule exempting U.S. companies and individuals from reporting beneficial ownership information ​to the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit, rolling back reporting requirements established under ‌a 2021 law aimed at combating illicit finance.

This is one reason I think governments are so uncomfortable with Bitcoin and public blockchains.

Cash can disappear into a system. Slush funds, hidden accounts, off-book spending and money moving through layers of intermediaries can be extremely difficult for the public to follow.

A public blockchain changes that. The addresses may be pseudonymous, but the transaction history is permanent. Once an address is tied to a person, agency or organization, you can start following where the money came from and where it went.

Imagine government spending operating that way. Budgets go out, and years later the trail is still there. You cannot simply make the ledger disappear because an administration changes or somebody does not want people asking questions.

That level of financial transparency cuts both ways, but it is also exactly why decentralized public ledgers can be threatening to institutions that are accustomed to controlling who gets to see the books.