Antonopoulos explains that requiring documentation for banking is a historically recent phenomenon that is based on two assumptions. First, people with identification are “assumed” to be good and thus allowed access to banking services. Also, documentation is required because it allows governments to track and punish those who commit crime.
Antonopoulos is critical of both these assumptions as they have excluded “several billion people from the financial system.” Also, it’s a system that doesn’t work because society is full of criminals who have identification documents and banking licenses.