Bitcoin Forum

Hey guys/gals, maybe I'm too dumb to understand how BC really works, but I just signed-up on a BC site and before I can purchase a few coins, I was asked for all my REAL information, including last 4 of my SS#, address, and even a bank account to link my BC account to! So I'm scratching my head, "how can this be anonymous" they know everything about me and if I buy anything using that BC account, I just opened, it'll be just as transparent as buying w/ cc lol. Again please forgive my ignorance, but can someone briefly explain how can any transaction from a BC account be anonymous, if they collect every piece of information about you before allowing you to open an account! Thanks!

Well, it is anonymous till date, but it's anonymous on its transactions. The fact that your account creation was littered with KYC wasn't really the fault of Bitcoin, but rather the fault of the company behind the exchange you're creating your account. (I'm assuming BC is BTC kay?). There are other exchanges out there that let you create an account without any KYC and let you transact BUT after a certain limit has been met, then you need to provide your information to them, an example would be Binance. There are also DEX's that don't require you to KYC as well as P2P trading which probably requires escrow service to ensure secure transactions.

You can always buy bitcoin on somewhere else with no kyc, maybe here or some website like localbitcoins

Bitcoin is not anonymous per se, it's psuedo anonymous.

Exchanges now are requiring you to submit your personal info to adhere with KYC (Know-Your-Customer) policies. And if we are still with traditional systems like banks to purchase BTC we need to fulfill the requirements.

Also there is a FATF guidelines, https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/guidance-rba-virtual-assets.html

One thing is for sure, avoid that website and choose an alternative. Because IMHO, that was too much for a KYC. Giving your name, address or even your contact number is reasonable but asking for your bank account is beyond the limits already. May I ask what website you signed in? For us to verify if it was legit/reputable or not.

I understand if you feel uncomfortable right now. Good thing you seek advice here first :).

Thank you all for the the info. Looks like I have to do some more research on the subject and educate myself on it. The site in question is called "coinbase". But here's another one for you... If I'm to get cryptocurrency online, I'm obviously not paying cash for it, so whether the purchase is made through company abc or xyz, they'll have my info, (i.e. my cc or PayPal, etc...) IOW, that's a traceable coz that how I'll most likely end up paying for these coins... Cheers!

First of all, it's BTC not BC and denoted by BTC sometimes.
Since you said you have choosen coinbase, you have to verify your identity before you start buying BTC. And yes, you can be traced easily if you use centralized services to buy/sell bitcoin. Better you use p2p method to avoid your identiry to be leaked.

Expect that KYC must be complete on some exchanges especially local wallets or exchanges so you can convert your BTC into your local currency.

There's plenty of exchanges that don't require KYC but have limited features like a limited amount of money to withdraw or deposit.

Also, take note that BTC is not anonymous, they can still trace your transactions and can see your balance in the blockchain. Like what @TravelMug said, it's pseudonymous, not anonymous.

Ok, I just tried signing up for binance, but it directed me to US site and asked to register there! At the reg page it says I have to prove to them that I'm a US citizen, which means they want my full info lol. Furthermore, even I go through the reg phase, how would I pay for btc's? Again, they'll have all my bank info! So back to ground zero :) what's the advantage of cryptocurrency if my transactions are transparent and my real info is traceable! To me you can either conduct a transaction anonymously or you can't. pseudo-anonymous, doesn't mean anything. Not that I'm trying to do anything crazy here, all I'm trying to do is a buy a stupid vpn service and pay for it in cryptocurrency, so we're only talking about $50 or $100, if at all. Thanks.

This is not about whether or not Bitcoin is anonymous. This is not even about Bitcoin. You don't have a Bitcoin yet, do you? All you have is fiat. That is the problem. You are going to buy Bitcoin with fiat. And because all you have is fiat, you cannot easily spend it without revealing some personal information. This is fiat's problem.

If you don't want to transact using CC or Paypal or bank deposit or remittance services or even cash because that would mean revealing your entire person, then I don't know how you would be able to spend that fiat. Try searching within your local city or town if there is a Bitcoin ATM nearby. 

you are confusing bitcoin with the websites/services.

when you sign up to use a website/service such as Coinbase, Binance,... you are subjected to the rules of those websites. this has absolutely nothing to do with bitcoin. it is your choice to use them and give up your KYC,... and let them track you.

otherwise using bitcoin doesn't need any of these sites and doesn't require KYC or anything like that. it is 100% peer to peer.
part of the problem is that you have fiat and want to dump that for bitcoin. so you are subjected to fiat laws.

Binance US requires stringent KYC, and it's only Binance US that requires that. I'm from SEA and I didn't really encounter any problems with that, so in your case, Binance may not be the get to go since it redirects you to the US site. Probably try and look up exchanges that don't require KYC in the US. Psuedoanonymous doesn't really reveal your real info. It just shows the wallet the coins were from in a transaction, and they can't really connect any real information from that transaction to you, that is unless the exchange you went on requires KYC. If CEX's don't really work out for you, try looking for DEX that you can easily access.

Thank you guys. Ye all are truly amazing! I really appreciate the education! I have signed up for localcoinswap so I guess now I have to find someone "trustworthy" to send him/her $ and hope that they'll deposit the equivalent bitcoins into my localcoinswap account/wallet. It's a "coin toss" really...coz I can send the $ through say "western union" to someone, they get the dough and never deposit the coins in my wallet! Is there any way to minimize my risk here? Thanks

Actually, it's hard to say that all your transactions will be smooth but if you are using localcoinswap, you can check the thumbs up they have.
The more thumbs up, the better. I guess.
And also, they have secure escrow protection, so at least relatively safe.
But you can check other crypto exchanges that don't require KYC like crex or unnamed.
Depends on which coin you want to trade as they have their own list of trading pairs.

Will do. Thank you!

The platform is using "escrow" in which it minimizes the risk of losing your fiat while doing an exchange. The website also have numerous P2P account where it reflects "Verified" and "Professional Trader". Not only that, it also shows how many "likes" the buyer/seller he/she got from trading with other people.

As far as I know, you can have a conversation to the seller upon accepting your offer. That is how the trade goes like when I used P2P marketplace of Binance even though it requires to me to have KYC. LOL

If you're still concerned with your privacy when doing P2P, maybe decrease the exposure of your CC/card with something like Privacy or any other services. It would be even better if your bank support creating virtual disposable card to spend your money.

Those are the verifications to your wallet and set up because nowadays most of the platform right now requires to have a KYC to verify their customers and avoid getting spam to their database and information. Now let's that to the main question of OP how does the bitcoin becomes anonymous and this is the reason because every time you make a transactions/txs you have a specific bitcoin address and this your key to send and receive funds now in every person who holds bitcoin now has this address and some of them had multiple addresses if you want to make anonymously to your funds you can use the bitcoin mixer we have the different mixer on the internet like the blender.io and the chipmixer I hope this will help you this is the simplest way I can explain how does the bitcoin become anonymously.

Yes it would mean that your transaction is not anonymous since that site will be able to trace your transactions and find out that it was you.
To buy bitcoin anonymously you will have to buy it from an exchange which offers peer to peer services without KYC.
For example, localbitcoins offer peer to peer transactions without KYC but then too you will have to provide your account details where you want to receive your money. You can also make transactions using cash and can meet a trader locally and offer him cash for bitcoins but then you will have to hide your identity if you want to be completely anonymous. Other than that there is no other way around.
When dealing with bitcoin to fiat this is only disadvantage. May be in future there will be a payment system which will allow to send fiat money anonymously.

In what website you have signed up with those information? BTC is the acronym of bitcoin just for that little correction. The exchange or website you have registered asks for KYC and usually you can avoid that with other wallets if you want to buy bitcoin.

Just choose the exchange where they are not requiring you KYC. You can create wallets that won't ask for your information, electrum for example. But if you use a local exchange and they ask for KYC and you don't like it, look for someone to do a p2p transaction in your place.

First of all, Bitcoin isn't anonymous. Second of all, if you aren't comfortable with the requirements that the site requires to you as the user then better find another one which will require less for you.

It isn't ignorance at all since you are just a newbie (I assume) and this is part of the training session that you will undergo. One advice, if you aren't comfortable with it then better find another site or exchange. There are some exchanges or sites which doesn't require KYC or if they will require is at least they will not ask for too much information coming from you.

Yes.

Use Coinbase.

I know that's not fashionable but it's the most solid company in the crypto space. Many people dislike their politics and actions but when it comes to the security of your data I doubt there's anywhere more reputable.

All of the friction stems from using your local currency to buy it. That's what comes with the regulatory burden and all the ID stuff. You're effectively opening a bank account and that's not possible anywhere in the world without ID.

If you resolve to never put your ID out there you're exposing yourself to much higher costs and much less choice, plus a healthy dose of risk.

If you're looking to buy drugs or gamble or whatever then yes you need to put more thought into it. If you're simply offended at having to hand over info, this is the world we live in. It's avoidable if you're willing to put the work in. I can't be arsed myself.

I don't know, it sounds suspicious to me. Are you trying to buy Bitcoin? In that case, you need an exchange, and since you'll have to pay with your credit card if it's all going to happen online, some of your information will become known automatically. I use local exchanges using bestchange.com (but it really depends on where you're from) and the exchange knows my name and card number, but nothing else. I can see that you've chosen a service already, but I've never used it, so I don't know if it's a good one or not.
Alternatively, you could try to earn BTC or to buy it via ATM (some don't require identification, but it can differ). If you already have BTC and you want to send it to someone, you just go into the wallet, choose the option of sending money, type in the address of the receiver and the amount you're sending. You won't need any other things.

This is now the result of the scammers. This forum could be a good place here for exchange and so as to remain anonymous.But with the scammers around then we cannot trust anyone here to do a trade or exchange. Now, due to huge money involve and exchanges operators now afraid being drag to money laundering. So, they require all the users to d KYC. KYC becomes more strict upgrading requirements each time to prove oneslf that even include takimg videos and picture while holding the proof.

Don't push yourself that much and don't be too harsh, if you don't understand bitcoin then you should keep on learning. Giving your personal details is your choice because there's a lot of alternatives that you're not require to give any real identity.

Blockchain technology is made of the purpose of a faster transactions and being anonymous, but since many government are requiring business for this matter, they have do choice but to adopt it so they can operate on a legal way. Just give enough information but never share your private keys.

I'm assuming your BC is bitcoin BTC, It is the exchange you are using that's asking for your personal information, it is a mandatory task to ask for KYC in almost all centralised exchanges (so, I'm assuming you're using one). There are several alternatives to those kinds of exchanges; you can choose to trade with an escrow or you use a DEX. It depends on the country you're living in. Try knowing the reputations of the exchange you're using and you're submitting your personal information to. Good luck, mate. You can always ask questions here in no time you'd be a pro like every other person.

I know we differ significant when it comes to using centrazlied/decentralized exchanges and our approach to KYC, but even when only discussing centralized exchanges I completely disagree with this statement. Coinbase admitted they were selling customer data to third parties. Coinbase bought out Hacking Team, which manufactured and sold surveillance software to human rights abusers. Coinbase have partnered up with the IRS, the DEA, and the Secret Service. There isn't an entity in cryptocurrency I would trust less than Coinbase with my data.

For OP, as others have said, your issue here is that the fiat side of your transaction is forcing you to complete KYC. It is entirely possible to buy and sell bitcoin without completing KYC, but it does take more effort and work to do than simply opening an account, uploading your passport, and making a trade. Essentially, you need to trade peer-to-peer with other individuals rather than going through a central service like Coinbase or Binance. There are several ways to achieve this. The ones I use predominantly are BISQ, LocalCryptos, or the currency exchange board on this forum. You will need to be able to pay in other forms of fiat to another person, be that cash in person, money order, bank transfer, PayPal, or something similar. You will also need to spend some time reading about the security and escrow measures for the first two, or finding a reputable trader or reputable escrow if you are trading with someone on the forum.

As I said, it takes more time and effort, but I absolutely feel it is worth it to avoid compromising your privacy.

You don't trust coinbase with your info and also coinbase can't trust you that you will be bringing clean crypto to their platform that is why they require KYC. Not only them but also other centralized exchange. They need all this before they allow you to access some other features such as buying with cards. This has nothing to do with bitcoin but rather where you want to store your crypto. By the way no registered bitcoin business will allow you to buy with card without verifying your identity

I don't mean privacy from The Man, that's a given. I'm talking more about it being lifted by hacking types.

Some no mark fake volume exchange could be doing anything with what you send them. At least Coinbase are only using it to allow governments to imprison your mind and soul.

If you can find a viable and affordable no KYC option then great. Many people would be turned off, give up or be scammed.

OP found a site where he could by BTC and regers to it as BTC site, like it was somehow a part of Bitcoin, but it's not.

Every single Internet user can make a site that implements some features of Bitcoin. Maybe it's a qr code, maybe a link to blockchain or a whole exchange.

What that Internet user demands of you is on him, not on Bitcoin. I could make a site where I sell Bitcoin with no KYC. There are such sites. Bitcoin is as anonymous as you make it.

Hey, I never gave my information to anyone. Some wallets/exchanges may require some private information (KYC). However, you can create a wallet or buy bitcoin from other places that don't require KYC. Also, I'd like to advice that you make prior research so you don't fall into the wrong hands. Welcome to the blockchain technology!!
 ;)

Hello mate, actually you use the centralized exchange. well, in the centralized exchange, you commonly will be asked for your details proven by the ID data, card, and also all of the information needed. It is called as KYC and AML. This has been common in the big exchange, they will ask this kind of information. Actually commonly the exchange wil ensure that the data are safe and private enough so nobody can see your detailed information. but when you are doing any kind of transactions especially trading, other people will not know who you are. They are also no care about whom they are trading. they only sell and buy on the market so nobody cares about the identity.

Actually, there is a way or exchange that needs no KYC or AML. they are commonly called as decentralized exchange. COmmonly you have to sign up with certain email and confirm very simple data and also 2FA. In this case, you can use any kinds of email and also personal data. howver, many decentralized exchanges are not trusted enough. So, you must eb more careful when choosing them.

Therefore do not sign-up sites that request the KYC procedure, because there are still many platforms that can buy
Bitcoin without having to provide personal data. You just need to be a little diligent in finding platforms that don't
require the KYC procedure. But be careful too, not necessarily the beginning when signed-up does not have to submit
our personal data. But when withdrawing with a certain limit we must submit our personal data. Therefore, do not forget
to read the terms of agreement and read reviews about the platforms.

That's an option mate but sad to know that most exchanges are asking KYC when registering to them and that gives you no reason to deny if you have to use their services.

May P2P services could help but the risk is high which people aren't much confidence in using this. Using escrow also is one of other option but never expect that you save fees compared to using exchanger. But never it warrants you at 100% anonymously because all transactions are recorded to blockchain and all have been traceable.

Decentralized exchange is what you need in order for you to buy bitcoin without uploading or giving your identity but there is also a negative of using it because not all of decentralized exchange are legit and many of them have hacked before. I prefer to use centralized exchange like Binance and Bittrex even though there is a KYC that is really required but I make sure first that the centralized exchange that I will use is legit and it has a high security to guarantee that my identity and my funds are in safe hands.

many link their exchange account to their bank account to make it easier to buy/sell. press the button and the money is there in your account (or taken from it).

coinbase is one such place that does this, so does gemini. both are legit exchanges.

There are still a lot of exchange that doesn't require KYC, but with a certain restrictions on your transactions like deposit and withdrawal limit. If you want to increase your limit, then that would be the perfect time to comply with the KYC.
Centralized exchange may contradicts the idea of Bitcoin privacy, but I guess that's better than using an unsecured decentralized exchange and risk your funds of possibly lossing everything.

Different opinions and suggestions is expected here because the OP didn't specified the exchange he was using. If only the OP will provide the specific website, then I'm sure he'll be able to get good output.

This is why I tried to tell my sister to just buy byc from me lol that way she won't be sending her information to anyone. Even cashing out BTC actually will still make you not anonymous.
You will have to submit data to any 3rd party you will use for recieving fiat.

The only anon transaction is when you send BTC to another BTC address if that's what you look for.

This is your best decision or a p2p. Try as much as you can to avoid any crypto site asking for your bank digits. There are lots of scam sites out there. You do that, you expose yourself and you blame yourself for that vulnerability. I don't know why Binance would ask for citizenship verification from a Level 1 customer. Could it be because it's its American site? I am a non-American citizen and I use Binance (as far back as 2017) and till date I am still on Level 1 (limited to 2btc daily withdrawal though) and I haven't done any citizenship verification apart from my email. I have always had smooth transactions on the site.

You could choose another site to use seems like you are registering to a site with a KYC required to use their service there are so many other providers that you could use without having a KYC.
And it is great that newbies are asking out to know more it is better than being so high and mighty even if you don't know a thing.
It is great to see that there are some who are still eager to know something about what they are about to do and not just blindly signing up.

Absolutely, but I'd suggest that Coinbase selling data to third parties doesn't exactly fill me with confidence either. Just like the two-bit exchanges, we have no idea what these third parties did with the data they obtained or how well the secured it.

The vast majority of "decentralized" exchanges which were hacked were not actually decentralized at all, but simply used the term as a flashy advertising slogan. The whole point of a decentralized exchange is that you keep control of your own coins and there is no central server or wallet which can be hacked.

I'm curious why people keep repeating this. My guess would be you have never actually used a proper decentralized exchange and understand how it works. You don't deposit your coins to the exchange, and so the risk of loss from your account being compromised or the exchange being hacked is significantly lower than with a centralized exchange.

Really hard to think about those things especially if they are new on the platform but what I can suggest to those new is they should do a proper research before engaging their selves on unknown platform. And I'm also impressed with those newbies who came here ask about the certain platform since for doing that they could learn and they became good observer on next time around.

We should try to be vigilant always especially with our private information.

can you state few of those exchanges that do not require identity verification before buying crypto with fiat?
Most if not all regulated exchanges will ask you to verify your identity when you make a fiat deposit/withdraw.
Even decentralized exchanges like bisq aren't completely anonyous when it comes to fiat trades. You will have to provide some personal information such as your name and bank account.

I use/have used BISQ, LocalCryptos, and Hodl Hodl.

There is an enormous difference between a single individual you are trading with seeing your name and an exchange with an unknown number of employees, unknown security set up, and who shares data with an unknown number of third parties, receiving copies of your passport or ID, selfies, name, address, social security number, and so on.

Still, if even revealing a name is more than you like, then you can buy anonymously with cash in person, cash through the mail, cash paid in to someone else's bank account, anonymous money orders, etc.

Yeah, keep in mind there are multiple kinds of wallets you can create. There are Exchange wallets, hard wallets and soft wallets.

Exchange wallets as you saw ask all kinds of questions about who you are, this is because in order to operate in any given country they need to comply with said country's legal framework.
Upsides: you get to trade against your FIAT of choice
Downsides: no access to private keys, the coins you hold here are not "truly" yours, and they can always just run with your money.

Hardware wallets are things like Trezor which are devices that hold the private keys of your wallets for you, they're easy to conceal and keep safe (like, in a safe) and all information within is encrypted with your password so it's hard to break into them without your passwords.
Upsides: increased security, you can always recover your wallet if you enter y our private key on any other wallet provider.
Downsides: you can't really trade against fiat unless you know someone who is selling, that you trust, that you can send your coins to.

Software wallets can be broken in two: full nodes and client wallets, full nodes are unpractical at best, recommended for people who run mining operations or large amounts of any given currency because they need to be connected to the internet and up to date before you're able to send your money away from them.
Upsides: increased security, shares the above one upsides, but has more potential ways to secure your funds.
Downsides: requires a more expensive set up, also same as above.

Now client wallets are things like Electrum or Jaxxx or others wallet providers that connect to a given node to get the blockchain information, these can be encrypted like the previous two but is not necessary.
Upsides: increased security compared to exchanges as you can export your private keys or mnemonic phrases to back up in case you lose your device.
Downsides: same as trezor hardware wallets, can't really sell to FIAT unless you know and trust someone who accept payments in crypto directly.

This is very generalized information, I personally make use of the 1st and 4th wallet above (exchange and client wallet), whenever my exchange wallet gets too fat (anywhere north of $1.5k) I transfer over to my client wallet, unless I'm actively trading I never keep more than that amount on any exchange at a time.

Hope this all helps!

That's a brilliant idea from your part, if the op can have someone trusted to buy from would be his best option, or he can look at the few dex we have around and decide, unfortunately buying btc from cex is a pain now, everyone must go through kyc in other to access them otherwise you can't do anything about it.

A couple of things I would add to your post.

I wouldn't call exchanges "wallets", but rather "accounts", since as you rightly point out, you have no control and no ownership over your coins or your keys.

I trade more-or-less exclusively directly from my hardware wallet by using decentralized and peer-to-peer exchanges. It takes a little bit of time to become familiar with, but I definitely wouldn't say you "can't really" do it.

Full nodes are more important than that. In fact, running your own node and validating transactions yourself is the only way to trustlessly use bitcoin. Every other lightweight wallet, SPV wallet, software wallet, mobile wallet, etc., is trusting someone else's full node to relay the correct information.

Why is this not necessary? You should absolutely be using the built in encryption mechanisms on your software wallets. It protects you from both physical access to your computer as well as malware.