Has this coin always been marketed as "almost impossible to trace" , to me im not sure if its worth it, there are many "almost" solutions, I can swap coins with a friend if I wanted "almost" , I thought the whole thing with this coin was that it was going to be anonymous, "almost anonymous" doesn't sound as catchy.
Bitcoin is also almost anonymous.
Bitcoin is not even close to being anonymous.
If you buy Bitcoins from Local Bitcoins, run it through a mixer and send it to an online exchange for LTC, move it to another exchange and buy BTC, then it's going to be nearly impossible to track to an individual especially in small amounts.
If you use TOR, then it becomes very hard to establish link bitcoin (address) <-> IP address. This doesn't mean that you can't be identified as an individual (you're not anonymous in this sense).
Bitcoins are anonymous in the sense that data stored in blockchain actually means nothing (its only numbers). But as soon as some "objects" (wallet addresses, transactions, maybe even off blockchain transactions on exchanges etc.) can be linked to you, you become vulnerable. If somebody is interested in you, it can start tracking you starting with this "object".
Most people will sooner or later leave something on the internet that can be used to link some "objects" to them.
For example, If you want to spend your final bitcoins or if you try to sell them for USD and withdraw your money, you will probably have to reveal your identity (to an exchange or to a merchant etc.).
Mixers may store logs and they can be even forced to store them because they get orders from the authorities (courts etc.). Exchanges store logs by default and they can also be forced to reveal info about you or your transactions. In fact, more and more exchanges demand that you send them copies of ID cards etc.
The guy that sells you bitcoins via local bitcoins can also be tracked by similar means.
Most people do security mistakes sometimes (for example, they forget to use tor one single time, they make mistakes when sending bitcoins and they create transaction which accidentally "links" two different addresses etc).
So if somebody has enough resources and motivation, it is very likely that your identity can be revealed. The question is if you're important enough that somebody will use their (limited) resources to track you.
