Wire · regulatory
EU Finalizes GDPR Blockchain Rules: Encrypted Data Is Still Personal Data
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Fusion42 · 10 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
The EU's data protection board has finalised GDPR compliance rules for blockchain, stating that encrypted and hashed data remain personal data subject to full GDPR rights including erasure — making public permissionless blockchains incompatible with EU data regulation. Technical impossibility of deletion is not a valid exemption from GDPR obligations.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Fintech.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
If you've built on public Ethereum or Bitcoin assuming encryption buys you out of GDPR, you're now exposed: the EU just ruled that encrypted data is personal data, erasure rights apply anyway, and technical impossibility isn't a defence. You either move to a private chain with named controllers, strip personal data entirely, or stop serving EU users.
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1 source · 10 Jul 2026
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