Bitcoin Forum

I have noticed that even Electrum suggests me to use different bitcoin address on every transaction I make. Why that since you can't do something if you don't have my private key?

Privacy. If you were to reuse your Bitcoin address, most of your transaction would originate and be sent to your address. Anyone, without much effort, would be able to trace all your activities just by monitoring one address.

In contrast, if you were to use a different address for every transaction, the funds would be sent to and be sent from different addresses. Since each of your transaction would be linked to different addresses, this makes it a lot harder for people to trace.

Security-wise, it is a non-trivial factor but it does help to eliminate attacks against your address using your public key if quantum computing becomes strong enough.

As the user has mentioned above, privacy is a big reason. You wouldn't wear a t-shirt with your net on it for obvious reasons, and if you only use one address that is what you're doing.

Bitcoin isn't anonymous

Crypto is not that anonymous after all if eventually a transaction can be trace back to the owner through wallet that's been frequently use overtime, i guess that leave with generating different wallet for any transaction, that would be quite a process.

For security of course. Addresses can be change anytime so much better to frequently used different addresses when your dealing with transactions.

You can use mixer if you dont want to be traced. But the best way is after you use the address for transaction, just change again or pick new one to use. You can always use different addresses so if ever your being followed by some hackers they would lose any path on your way.

Better safe than sorry.

there is also a security risk involved which is highly unlikely but it is still there. and that is solving ECDLP, which is basically to find a private key from public key. it is impossible now and it may not happen in the next 50 years but we should still know about it.
if you only use each key once all the world would ever know is the hash of your public key until you spend coins by that time there wouldn't be enough time to do anything.
this doesn't necessarily need quantum computing. it's all math, maybe someone could come up with a method to solve this problem faster.

Because if you use a new address each time, it makes tracking your transactions more difficult.

Reading all the replies above, I think the question has got the answer, surely it is about security and privacy. Using the same BTC address probably attracts people's attention. And someone can trace all your transaction activities. It is too risky and must be avoided, better to use another BTC address than risks your Bitcoin.

>OP, kindly lock this topic if you think it is enough.

There is always a reason for everything, using different addresses for every transaction you have will make you secured, if you are going to use different addresses in every transactions, the attackers or hackers will find hard to trace your account because of different addresses it seems like it is different people because of different address. You may do that but actually, it is really hard to keep because of so many accounts which may result in forgetting some kind of the passwords.
Is there really possible to generate a wallet address? This seems so unfamiliar to me because I haven't tried doing that thing.

I disagree. The primary feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity factor. As long as you follow all safety protocols, your BTC or any other crypto address stays secure. Quantum computing is still just a dream at this point which is why I wouldn't worry about it.

Totally possible. The wallets(Green Address etc) which I have personally used always gave me an option to generate a new deposit address whenever necessary.

Privacy =/= Security

Bitcoin is only pseudonymous and NOT anonymous, simply because ALL transactions are public. Even though there are no personal information tied into your addresses(unless you do a transaction with a centralized exchange with your personal information).

Yes it isn't anonymous since you can see the nodes. That's what you're talking, right?
Do you know if there is a way to hide my ip when I do a transaction? Without purchasing any hardware.

Run the Bitcoin Core software through Tor: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Tor#Bitcoin_Core

Personally, I like using the Wasabi Wallet[1]; with Tor also natively integrated.

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[1] https://wasabiwallet.io/

A few years ago there was somebody asking for help here. He was threatened by somebody who knew how many coins this guy was holding.
It was easy because this guy was using one and only address.

Using new addresses every time decreases dramatically the chance somebody gather such information, even if one can track a few transactions to you, he won't be able to track everything.

(Of course, only using change addresses sometimes is not enough, and that's what mixing is for.)

Even if the transactions are completely public in nature, no one can identify anything about you unless you provide your details through KYC as you mentioned. This is what I love about crypto primarily.

However, I know that there are cryptocurrencies with better privacy features out there like Monero etc which provide a greater degree of security. Also, security equals privacy in my opinion.

For example, enabling 2FA helps protect my account to a greater degree and enhances my privacy when compared to having it disabled.

KYC is just one way to give out your details.
You can have the address published as a tip jar. You can have the address published to get coins for some goods or services. You can send money for goods or services and the receiver will know who you are (in certain cases). You can make a non-anonymous donation. Maybe other ways I don't think of right now.
One wrong step and anonymity is gone if there's only one address used.

About KYC

If you create an address only for the customer and he sends you the bitcoins there, you can't hide yourself. Even if you send the bitcoins from the generated address to your main address he can see your main address from the merkle root.
Right?

Bitcoin isn't anonymous and only pseudonymous because you can see where the coins are being sent and received. Although you won't know who has sent and received Bitcoins, you can at least see which addresses are involved in the transaction. Through various analysis, you can link addresses up and find an identity leak somewhere down the chain.
It doesn't concern the merkle root at all. Anyone who knows you and sends you funds to any specified address would know with a good accuracy that it belongs to you, unless you immediately use a mixer like the one in my signature. Mixers would break the chain off completely and they wouldn't be able to tell where your funds go as long as you do not reuse your addresses.

Oh. I thought you could see the IPs somehow. Especially if someone sends you coins.

Bitcoin is traceable, so the only way to increase your anonymity is using a different address for every transaction. If you publish an address to receive payments online, and keep it static, everyone can go to blockexplorer.com, for example, and see all the money you have received.

I don't see any threat for someone who keeps monitoring your move in blockchain, so what if you are being monitored? they can't do nothing about it. I guess the use of many addresses is for trader with huge amount who is active engaging to the market coz I it won't be a problem for holders. The idea of using many address is great, to strengthen your anonymity and privacy, I want to personally recommend this one for more safety and security from online criminals.

Only applicable on wallets where you control the private keys like Atomic, Exodus but on exchanges sites you cannot do that,  like on Coins.ph our local trading site I am only allowed to use the same address as long as my account is active.

Yes it is one of the anticipations so that your transaction activities are not easy to sue. The more information a hacker collects, then he/she will easily find a way to hack your account.
I think this method is effective for big traders who are actively conducting transactions.

it beacause like other say privacy and for security  for being hacking or by other who want to trace you. like example  of gambling site some of them they use different address every transaction to avoid tracing or hacking..

You have no idea how they works. Gambling sites give everyone different addresses to detect which owns to who. Otherwise, it's not possible to trace who sent the BTC. On the other hand, gamblings sites are legally documented and they are forced to be transparent as much as possible.

No thanks to Google's caching and crawling, you can trace which site it leads to and further dig info from there

There's a difference between being anxious and being aware about your bitcoin addresses. All of us here are using bitcoin as an investment or store of value or etc., bitcoin really mean so much to us because we are having a hard time manipulating it in the market because of its volatility. Giving importance to your privacy is really necessary especially if you're using huge amount of bitcoin in your wallet.

Being anxious can make you stressed and can affect your mental health because you're not confident about your bitcoin address that's why you always double check and there's nothing wrong about that. The only problem about being anxious is that you're not confident about yourself and your privacy.

Being aware is much better because as you're using different bitcoin addresses, it means that you're giving value about your privacy and you're confident enough in using you bitcoin in many transactions. Using different addresses without any hesitation and worries of getting hack is good because it means that you're believing on yourself that you are a responsible bitcoin user.

This is the only thing I fancy in blockchain wallet, but don't use it much for better security sake. Whenever a coin is sent to you, the wallet automatically changes and I think it does same for sent out transactions. This is just the beauty of anonymity of appearing not easily traceable by just anyone as one of the commentators have already said.

[i understand you . they cant hack you anyway if they dont have your private key so whats thier point of doing this ? me either i always see this and this is risky on our side because like me i am using same address all the time but if ever the recieving address were changing constantly  my withdrawals are gonna get fcked up so i avoid wallets like have this feature . you can do the same thing too  . still you need to check the address everytime you copy and paste  just to make sure that its the correct address your dealing with

Others already answered the privacy thing.

It's also a good idea to stay anonymous.
In the internet world it will be best to be unknown to anybody.
To avoid leaving footprints.

It's all about staying private and discrete with your transactions. This also ward of hackers from tracing your account and attempt to phish you on any clonew website of theirs. That's why most PoS coins wallet make it possible for you to create several receiving addresses for every transaction.

Quantum computing is a joke at this stage and It won't become a threat for Bitcoin for years to come.

Your other points are of course relevant and chain analysis is already in use by government agencies. It's best to make a new address for each payment that you receive and avoid outputs to places with KYC that could link your identity to your wallet.

If yo udo value your privacy into some extreme extent then this kind of changing address or using different address is a must.Just like on what most people do tell here is that this do matter most in talks of privacy
because its really hard to trace up if youve been using multiple address but well not all would really prefer this one just because its too hassle.Hence, most people believe that single address would be enough
as long you do have the key then theres no one can get those funds inside.Its just a matter of preference though.

This is why it's being promoted by the mainstream media and allowed by more world governments. It facilitates the coming of the new world order and a totally cashless society where all financial transactions are traced.

The end of liberty, and the death of freedom on this planet.

It's just a matter of privacy when you are using a different wallet address for every transaction you have, you will keep yourself anonymous, they would think that the people behind those transactions are different people because of different wallet addresses. Always do that because it will make your account secured and people will hard to trace you.

Privacy and security are really important in this crypto world, if you have so much money and you do not keep yourself anonymous, hackers and scammers will hook their attention on you, so you might be their target. So in order to avoid these things you have to make yourself private.

For security reasons, it gives you privacy as a user. Every transaction is traceable that is why they suggest using different bitcoin addresses. It helps you to increase your anonymity and it is the best option as a user compared if you are using the same address every time you transact.

The reason why you should use different addresses is not that they can do anything with your wallet, it is indeed true that as long as we don't have your private key we can't use it.

The real reason is that it helps you from being anonymous. Other people will have a hard time tracking your transactions, whether you send transactions to a friend, or to someone dear to you, it won't be traced easily as long as you are using different addresses.