“People should not be fooled by claims of online anonymity, each transaction..."

[astrobitcoin]

the complete quote:

“People using these sites should not be fooled by claims of online anonymity, each transaction builds up a global web of intelligence which international partners are using to target you.”
Steve Lancaster, national director of investigations and assistant commissioner at the ACBPS

from article on coindesk:
http://www.coindesk.com/80000-in-bitcoin-seized-in-international-dark-web-crackdown/


did anybody noticed this quote on that article?
isn't that quite scary? did i understood right or can you explain better.. what does he mean with: "builds up a global web of intelligence"

this, plus other similar news, are a clear signal: the (golden?) age of total freedom of possibilities with cryptos is history!

[DannyHamilton]

the complete quote:

“People using these sites should not be fooled by claims of online anonymity, each transaction builds up a global web of intelligence which international partners are using to target you.”
Steve Lancaster, national director of investigations and assistant commissioner at the ACBPS

from article on coindesk:
http://www.coindesk.com/80000-in-bitcoin-seized-in-international-dark-web-crackdown/


did anybody noticed this quote on that article?
isn't that quite scary? did i understood right or can you explain better.. what does he mean with: "builds up a global web of intelligence"

this, plus other similar news, are a clear signal: the (golden?) age of total freedom of possibilities with cryptos is history!

Bitcoin has never been anonymous.  It has always only been (and still is) pseudonymous.

As such, it is up to the user to make the effort to protect their identity, privacy, and anonymity.  With enough of the right effort, bitcoin provides the ability to maintain significantly better protections than traditional electronic payments (such as credit cards, paypal, ACH, SWIFT, etc).  Without the proper effort, bitcoin transactions become (and always have) more public and traceable than any other form of electronic payment.

It is up to you to make sure that you use a new bitcoin address for EVERY transaction.  It is up to you to make sure that you do not tie your identity to any bitcoin addresses that you wish to keep anonymous.  It is up to you to make sure that you don't reveal your identity to anyone that you don't want to have it.

[astrobitcoin]

that's correct.

but is that enough since "each transaction builds up a global web of intelligence which international partners are using to target you" ?!???

who are this international partners? (i guess government agencies, feds, interpol)
how it works the "global web of intelligence" that can "target you"?

a transaction is from A to B.
assuming A is super protective, how about B? what if B is already "target"?
actually each transaction is a target
am i making sense?

[Mikestang]

The only people who use "bitcoin" and "anonymous" in the same sentence are people that don't understand bitcoin.

[RodeoX]

The story is not clear whether bitcoin is being used to identify the criminals discussed. It looks more to me like they are targeting the real world addresses of the buyers and sellers. And the "transactions" seem to be the sales transactions not the bitcoin Tx.

[DannyHamilton]

that's correct.

but is that enough since "each transaction builds up a global web of intelligence which international partners are using to target you" ?!???

If you are careful enough?  Yes.  If you are not careful enough? Then no.

who are this international partners?

Anyone that wants to know who is using bitcoins and what they are using them for.

(i guess government agencies, feds, interpol)

Sure, those would probably be some of the organizations that are trying to figure it all out.

how it works the "global web of intelligence" that can "target you"?

There is a permanent record of EVERY bitcoin transaction that has ever occurred.  Using forensic accounting practices, it is possible to analyze this "intelligence" and identify patterns.  If people don't properly protect their identity and privacy, then it is possible to use the patterns in the transaction history to identify and target individuals and the people that they do business with.

a transaction is from A to B.
assuming A is super protective, how about B? what if B is already "target"?

If B is a target of investigation, and fails to protect their identity, then the organizations investigating B can question them.  If B knows identifying information about you (such as your mailing address), then B can turn this information over to the investigation (or they may discover this information in records that B keeps).  Then the investigation can identify and question you.  This is why you should be very careful about what transactions you engage in, who you transact with, and what information you give them.  It is best to avoid engaging in any illegal transactions no matter what method of payment you are using.

actually each transaction is a target
am i making sense?

No.  What kind of "target" would a transaction be?

[JLynn171]

Welll the way i look at it is if you are doing something wrong with the bitcoin and need anonymous there are steps to take to get that, but if ya using to say get a 20% discount at starbucks who cares ... personally I'd sign my name with every tx and send to the feds and not care

[bornil267645]

No one said Bitcoin is anonymous but it provides a far better opportunity than fiat currency system to maintain your anonymity if you are careful enough to take full advantage of that.

[DannyHamilton]

Bitcoin is a non-anonymous centrally controlled currency that is traceable, trackable, taxable, and inflationary.

More accurately, it is a pseudonymous, decentralized, currency with a permanent ledger of transactions.

It is only temporarily inflationary (All new currencies MUST be inflationary in the beginning, since there is no other way to create supply).

Taxes have nothing to do with currencies.  All transactions are taxable if the local tax authority decides they are, regardless of payment method.

Whether bitcoin is "traceable" or "trackable" really depends on what you mean when you use those words.

It isn't necessarily possible to "track" a transaction to a particular user, but it is possible to see which transactions were used to fund other transactions.