[PaulDavisThe1st]

Every electronic transaction you're involved with is already surveiled, so it's hard to see how that would change.

But how about NOT having to pay banks for instantaneous funds transfers to any 3rd party? And how about actually have instantaneous funds transfer to any 3rd party (something which does not exist in the US banking system)

Same surveillance, lower costs, faster payments.

[atemerev]

Bitcoin already works for cheap international transfers.

And no, my bank won’t give any details about my account and its transactions (unless I do something really horrible), even to the national tax authorities (I live in Switzerland, where bank secrecy is still a thing, at least for the residents/citizens).

[vinay427]

This is generally true in Switzerland as you stated (with those exceptions for more serious issues) for residents, as Swiss citizenship is irrelevant. Anyone resident in any of a host of countries with which Switzerland has signed agreements can have their bank details shared with the country of residence.

I suspect a fair amount of other countries have this discrepancy as well. Based on a brief online search it seems like the data on US checking/savings accounts of US residents are not shared with the IRS, for instance, unless a summons (which can be contested) is approved. I'm not sure what the difference is in practice.