Topic: "Bitcoin is anonymous" --- According to every avg. Joe, but is it really? - page 2. (Read 2133 times)
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December 14, 2013, 12:12:23 PM
It's only truly anonymous if you want it to be and know what you're doing. I also heard about Bitcoin through its ties to Silk Road and was fascinated by both. As a libertarian and anti-prohibitionist I immediately loved both concepts.
December 14, 2013, 11:10:35 AM
Every time I have a conversation about bitcoin with my friends, every one of them say the same thing: "it's anonymous internet money". Why is this usually the first or only thing that the average newbie know about bitcoins? Hell, I'm still having a hard time understanding why the concept of bitcoins being "anonymous" is one of the main traits that the media portrays about bitcoins. Is it really that anonymous? From my understand of bitcoins and how the blockchain works, it seems like bitcoins are the opposite of anonymous... and potentially a nightmare for privacy.
From what I understand, the blockchain is a global ledger, it hold information for every single transaction ever done by bitcoin by linking the bitcoin to the private address that the individual holds. This is open to the public. Yes, you can't tell who owns a bitcoin address but once you link that address to your identity or your bank account, and if someone finds your bitcoin address, they can see every single transactions you have ever made through bitcoins. If you use coinbase and coinbase has a record of your bank account and your initial bitcoin address, and if the government or some other identity gets a hold of that initial address... they can see every single transaction and transfers you have ever made.
Please tell me if my understand is wrong, but I just don't see how this is anonymous.
On another note, now that I think about it.. I can relate to people who think bitcoins are "shady" and the only use for it is for anonymous internet transactions. Of course we all know that assumption is completely missing the big picture. But when I first heard about bitcoin it was over a year ago... my friend showed me Silkroad and we browsed through the website for fun, shocked and amazed at all the crazy illegal stuff that were being sold using bitcoins. I automatically assumed bitcoins only played a role in the illegal market because it was completely anonymous, and being that anonymous it made me feel like it was sketchy and lacked in privacy. I completely forgot about bitcoin until the US Senate hearings, when I actually did some research and realized it was much more than just some anonymous internet currency and has the potential to change the world. I wish I would have invested when I first heard about Silkroad/bitcoins.. but everyone's hindshigt is 20/20
From what I understand, the blockchain is a global ledger, it hold information for every single transaction ever done by bitcoin by linking the bitcoin to the private address that the individual holds. This is open to the public. Yes, you can't tell who owns a bitcoin address but once you link that address to your identity or your bank account, and if someone finds your bitcoin address, they can see every single transactions you have ever made through bitcoins. If you use coinbase and coinbase has a record of your bank account and your initial bitcoin address, and if the government or some other identity gets a hold of that initial address... they can see every single transaction and transfers you have ever made.
Please tell me if my understand is wrong, but I just don't see how this is anonymous.
On another note, now that I think about it.. I can relate to people who think bitcoins are "shady" and the only use for it is for anonymous internet transactions. Of course we all know that assumption is completely missing the big picture. But when I first heard about bitcoin it was over a year ago... my friend showed me Silkroad and we browsed through the website for fun, shocked and amazed at all the crazy illegal stuff that were being sold using bitcoins. I automatically assumed bitcoins only played a role in the illegal market because it was completely anonymous, and being that anonymous it made me feel like it was sketchy and lacked in privacy. I completely forgot about bitcoin until the US Senate hearings, when I actually did some research and realized it was much more than just some anonymous internet currency and has the potential to change the world. I wish I would have invested when I first heard about Silkroad/bitcoins.. but everyone's hindshigt is 20/20
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