I'm a little cautious about giving away my personal information (i.e. license, social security #, etc.) before being able to transfer $ to Bitcoin. Is there any way to circumvent this or is it a necessary evil? Also, how does it affect my anonymity with BTC transactions?
Thanks friends
There are literally tens of thousands of people exchanging BTC for fiat (real) currency across many websites in many countries. Coinbase is a San Francisco, USA based company, and if I had to guess is doing business in the 6 figure range, if not more. I didn't go so far as to give them my login information to verify my bank for deposits (that's pretty stupid imo), however, I have verified with them using traditional ACH method, and CC info and have not had any issues exchanging with them. Unless you're on the FBI most wanted list, I don't think you have anything to worry about. In fact, I'd be tremendously more worried about dealing with people that don't want to give you their identity. Those are the people that are likely to rob you because you were dumb enough to bring cash to a bitcoin deal. If you are using a CC to buy BTC and get screwed by the exchange, you might even be covered by your credit card's fraud protection.
