'Financial Surveillance' or 'Blockchain Analysis'? Human Rights Foundation Debates Elliptic

"I think you should quit your job and go and work for the good guys," the Human Rights Foundation's Alex Gladstein told Tom Robinson, the founder of crypto compliance firm Elliptic, Monday afternoon.

The two were debating blockchain surveillance as part of the Mainnet online event, sponsored by Messari, which opened today on the Hopin platform.

Human Rights Foundation is an organization that focuses on working with activists around the world, especially in closed societies.

Elliptic is a blockchain analytics company that helps enforcement-minded clients track the flow of crypto payments.

Robinson told Gladstein and the Messari audience that he founded Elliptic because he believed making cryptocurrency function in a way that was more amenable to regulators would enable more people to take advantage of cryptocurrency's advantages.

Compliance has been key to bitcoin's ascendance, he argued, as major companies providing services to bitcoin users have created robust departments for working with regulators.

Generalized financial surveillance "creates a climate of fear," he said.

"I would prefer you refer to yourself as a financial surveillance company not a blockchain analysis company.

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