Topic: We are making the same mistake again. (Read 3392 times)

Protocol change might not even be necessary with something like the othercoin smartcard
(thread: bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=321085)

Probably not really save for large amounts but leaves no trace in the blockchain. (and no fee)

Coinjoin? Is this much different?

Personally I hope that people can opt in and opt out of anonymity. One of it's main strengths is transparency when compared to the current banking system.

Exactly, it can be anonymous in a sense. Your mum goes to pick it up, they received the BTC, so they follow up with their agreement. People participate in an anonymous feedback system. I am very concerned about making things easy for a police state. Bitcoin/cryptocurrency could be the future, I just hope it's not just another tool used by a fascist government. In situations like that it becomes natural to hate the infrastructure that allows for the control a tyrannical state might have, and long for a society with no technology thereby taking their weapon away.

If the technological solution is here that allows us to bypass centralised, easily coercible, morally sanctioned yet violent monopolies, it isn't bitcoin. Bitcoin just bypasses banks. That's a tiny part of what I believe to be the major battle.

edit: maybe I should just be happy with this one step

The other party and anyone they choose to tell knows you have done the transaction.  How much they know about you is privacy level.  At the low end it might only be the goods you bought, a shipping address, and a bitcoin adress.  If it's face to face well then they have seen you.  None of it is anonymous in the sort of magic movie sense most people wish to picture it.  But depending on how you do it deducing your indentity may be very hard.

I'd imagine so, unless we're talking about other digital goods. (And that just might be the key to the whole issue....)

that is an interesting point. Is it watertight? Is it necessarily impossible to send money to a bitcoin address and receive a good anonymously?

If bitcoin is used like cash it is as anonymous as cash.  If you go buy a gold coin for cash but got the cash at your bank it is exactly the same as buying BTC on an exchange and going to buy in person for BTC.  One transaction is pretty anon and the other not so much.  The benefit of bitcoin is that it is both usable in a hand to hand cash scenario and online.  Blockchain.info has mixing services and even trustless mixing.  A secret is only a secret if one person knows it.  There is no true anonymity in transaction since two parties are involved it's just levels of privacy.

I dont like the lack of anonimity in bitcoin either - Thats why wee need to implement ZeroCoin or something like it in the bitcoin protocol.

Amir really isn't the best spokesperson for Bitcoin. Everytime I see his interviews on RT I sigh.
He so repetitive with information and never clearly answers question and if he does attempt to answer them
he comes up with some other shit and or dodges the question all together. He clearly isn't the best person to question when it comes to the complexities of Bitcon but RT seems to be in love with the guy. I don't if they just want to get a good laugh or ruin Bitcoin's image.

Thanks for the info. I agree with the main utilities being security and transferability.

Although I understand the need some people have for complete anonymity and privacy when using bitcoin, the payment methods I currently use (banking and credit cards) have none of those features, and this doesn't bother me at all.  Bitcoin's utility for me is much less about anonymity and much more about security and transferability.  If I was so concerned about my privacy in anything financial, I would use cash instead of banking and credit cards.  I pay my taxes, including on bitcoin receipts (because in my country, you're required to).  I pay capital gains tax on bitcoin gains as well for the same reason, and write off the losses.  I could say I have nothing to hide, and indeed that is true, so I'm willing to trade some level of privacy (people looking at my transactions in the blockchain) for convenience.  Whether one wants to do this is a personal choice, and should continue to be.

I've read about zerocoin, and I think it can be a great complement to bitcoin when someone desires true anonymity.  I think intentionally using mixers is too close to money laundering for my comfort (putting your bitcoin into the mixer is a public action that is not anonymous), and I have a feeling in the coming years governments will clarify the legal implications of using these services.  The Dark Wallet trustless mixing is an interesting idea, and I'm not sure exactly how that works yet, so I'll evaluate that as I learn more.  

If you want to use bitcoin anonymously without mixing, buy bitcoins face-to-face (or better yet, mine them) in small lots, send them to unused new addresses when purchasing, and only use the addresses once or twice before abandoning them completely.  This usage takes a little effort, but it's the price of anonymity without relying on anything but bitcoin and yourself.  It will be interesting to see what new ideas come out in this category in the coming years.

wow wish I'd started reading your comment from the end (I would've stopped there.) Why so unpleasant?

At the risk of feeding a troll, I will say I understand a lot more about bitcoin than most people, but I like to downplay my knowledge, as I am aware there are plenty who understand bitcoin a lot better than me

Bitcoin is not anonymous. It's pseudo-anonymous:


Remedying that would be a good idea, as would be learning how to use GPG, as would be piling on the reading.


STFU and go away. You're the most idiotic piece of shit Bitcoin ever stepped in.

I don't understand why the project needs to raise $50,000. What are the expenses for? Is it for setting up prototype networks? Living expenses?

Furthermore, is there a link to a more technical description of the theory behind making coins more anonymous without having to trust a third party? I understand it has something to do with running another network within (or in conjunction with) the bitcoin network, but there has to be a cost or additional risk to doing this.

thank you very much. This, or something like this, is the future. BTC is about 1% of the battle. Anonymity is the other 99%.

Very interesting project.

.

Security measures and habbits should be changed in the coming months if one wants to be really appear off grid.

That's why I like the Casascius Coins and paper wallets so much. You don't have to be connected to the internet to use Bitcoin. The infastructure just adds a level of security that the Bitcoins really exist.