Case in point: Monero users might have private transactions (or so they believe, wink wink), but the goods and services they are buying with it, or the fiat conversions they are doing, are being monitored and tracked by the establishment. So then what's the point? I heard an example a while back of a bodybuilder that used Monero to purchase steroids. He/she thought their transaction was private, but the FBI still tracked the illegal mail package to their house and arrested them. The "privacy" of the transaction made zero difference, they got caught anyway. I'm sure the same has happened to people trying to use Monero to buy illegal drugs.
Would love if you proved me wrong but I think Monero advocates like Monero because transactions themselves are harder to trace and do not care as much about the packages they receive. Say a local shop accepts Monero for their goods. You can shop for anything you like, pay offline and nobody would know you have been there. With Bitcoin this gets more difficult as your public address is left there as a footprint and Blockchain Analysis tools become very handy. I love Bitcoin, it is great but when I feel like not giving up my privacy, I use Monero. I used to do Coin Joins instead but found out that mixing and Coin Joining makes me look like a criminal more than using Monero directly does.
Personally, I am using Monero to run away from data collection and control. I do not care if FBI tracks an Amazon parcel to my home address, I just hate letting them build a clear ledger of every thing I do with every penny I own. Sure, there is an invoice with my name and address on it, but it gets harder for them to connect the ends financially and yet nothing illegal is in the middle of it. I use cash, same reason. I avoid using loyalty cards as well because I do not want corps to know my shopping habits and budget. I see loyalty cards as intrusive and not worth the discounts I get for the data they collect on me.
What I typically hate is that we got to automatically link Monero to illegality in our brains. It is not like that. I just want my actions to be private. I do not use private messaging applications for drug deals. I want to tell my friends anything without ever fearing someone may listen. Canadian protestors are getting knocks on their door for liking posts on Facebook groups. Why would I bother with all of this and be part of it? Why bother when I can mind my own business instead? I use cash all the time and nobody cares but most start caring if I look for a private Cryptocurrency. Why? Call me old school, I may be but I love it.
I am simply against data collection and centralization. You say you can not hide Monero to fiat transactions because there is a record on your banking statement, but have you considered some users are doing peer to peer Monero to fiat transactions? You can disconnect from the centralized and build a more private life. I am trying to avoid banks as much as possible. Totally or partially disconnecting, it is your choice. To me, even disconnecting from social media is a big step. The worst part is giving up comfort for privacy, but I have to admit I feel so much better and free when I know my life, actions, hobbies, habits are not being monitored on a 24 7 basis.
Bitcoin definitely helps. I will repeat, I love it and it still is a beast. I just use Bitcoin and Monero the same way I use card and cash. Bitcoin and card for transactions I do not care about enough. Monero and cash for when I want the transaction to be my own business. Porn subscription? Grocery shopping? Taxi? A date out in the city? I do not need them authorities to know what porn I watch, which legumes I eat, in which city I've been today or where I ate.
And yes, I do know the number of places you can use Monero at is still very limited. You can barely use Bitcoin anywhere, let alone Monero. This post is just my mindset spoken out loud.
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Regards,
PrivacyG
I agree with this, and would like to add; privacy should be the norm, not the other way around as it is now. No one needs to defend or explain why they need privacy, the ones who constantly track and store all user activity indefinitely need to explain and be transparent.
Regarding banks and big exchanges, they can be avoided by using cash and trade for Bitcoin/Lightning with individuals, there are online rating/reputation systems to keep this type of trading reasonably safe, although it's probably best to deal with sums you can afford to lose. The Bitcoin wallet transactions can be tracked on the block chain, but it is possible to keep the wallet owner anonymous with some effort/strategy. I haven't checked the privacy when using Lightning in depth, it depends if channel nodes are being tracked/logged. The longer Lightning channels are open before finalized in the Bitcoin block chain, the harder it gets to untangle any individual transactions, that would be my assumption. In any case, there is a growing market for privacy, Lightning will improve over time. When using AES (Rijndael) encryption you have mixing rounds, perhaps that could be implemented in a topological way (thinking about channel constructs) to make Lightning very hard to track even in the case when some nodes are logged.
