Of course it can work without KYC. Have a listen to Charles’ video where he outlined some use cases:
There is no basis for such a claim.
Currently there is no evidence that the US Govt or US regulators are going to come after Cardano staking. Eg: By seeking to ban Cardano staking without KYC.
This is what I wrote in another thread on this forum KYC, SEC, Contingent Staking, Twitter Drama and YOU. Spank-fully explained! ;) - #14 by Aliduth
I think regulators can choose to come after Cardano staking, and whether or not we provide tools to allow contingent staking is irrelevant. Cardano staking is literally making a free choice to point a key. There is no contract with the stake pool and there is no transfer of funds or taking of custody.
If regulators choose to outlaw Cardano staking then I think we have much bigger problems because at that point they will have chosen to outlaw freedom of choice, freedom of association, and freedom to value things differently. I would rather die on that hill because otherwise we may as well already be connected up to the matrix.