Anonymity In Bitcoin Should Be Upheld

[Paleus]

Bitcoin is often hyped as a potentially-anonymous method of making transactions, but how many people actually use it in this way? We can plainly see that privacy is a very weak point in the current developments within bitcoin. It is easy to trace spending patterns through the blockchain, IP addresses, and wallet reuse. However, the question remains, will anonymizing techniques be enhanced in the coming years, or will bitcoin development bend to the whim of policy makers and advocates of ‘stopping criminal behavior’?

Many ill-informed users of technology will almost always hear the word anonymity and spout out the question “doesn’t that allow terrorists to do terrible things?” “What about money laundering?” These are perspectives riddled with a fallacy of short-sightedness and reactive rather than proactive measures.

Technology is a tool which extends the physical and mental capabilities of humans. Not limited to individual use, technologies also enable collective humanity to extend their ability to exert control over their natural world, thus extending their physical capabilities. A nuclear fission reactor allows collective humanity the ability to control an aspect of natural and extract tremendous amounts of energy from it. Technologies themselves do not facilitate, exclusively, actions which could be described as good or evil.

Read the full post on Diginomics.

[Amph]

in this world if you want one thing you will miss another, you can't have both anonimity and security, who want anonimity will be seen as a crimninal or tax evader, but not all want anon for doing bad illegal activity, some of them are just protecting their privacy

bitcoin should definitely aim at full anonimity, who want more security will not use it or will not use the anon part of bitcoin(by simply registering every move he does, talking about taxes, here but it could apply for everything)

this is the only way to have both things, let the people can choose, is the key

[SpanishSoldier]

Bitcoin is always anonymous, only if you know how to use it anonymously.

[crazyivan]

I strongly disagree.

The only effect BTC anonymity generates is to attract tons or scammers, thieves and ponzi pumpers to the industry. They are able to scam ordinary users, especially newbies and by doing this they do a lot of damage to the crypto world. Why would I want to support something like that?

[fast2fix]

if you want to do some anon transactions try alternative coins which are built for anonymity i would suggest to use  monero. bitcoin might become complete anon in future.

[AgentofCoin]

I strongly disagree.

The only effect BTC anonymity generates is to attract tons or scammers, thieves and ponzi pumpers to the industry. They are able to scam ordinary users, especially newbies and by doing this they do a lot of damage to the crypto world. Why would I want to support something like that?

Bitcoin was designed to be semi-anon.
For the blockchain to work, everything is known by everyone,
but no one (unless info is publicly given, such as tags) knows who actually controls which address.
That is the current anonymous aspect to Bitcoin, and is very important.

In the event that all addresses in the future, must be labeled with real people's identities (and verified),
whether to stop scams or for tax purposes, or to prevent other crimes or etc, then there is no point in using Bitcoin.
We just basically neutered Bitcoin and transformed it into a means for a totalitarian system of control.

We would basically have a open banking system that everyone can see all transactions and see who owns what, who sends money to who, and etc.
I could not think of a better system for governments to use to oppress the people for the new age of crypto-currency.

[GTO911]

bitcoin might become complete anon in future.

Forget it

Use Monero to stay untraceable

[medUSA]

I do not believe "ANONYMITY IS A HUMAN RIGHT" as the article argues. You can have anonymity in voting, in journalism, but you cannot have anonymity when you start a business, or rent a car. That's outside the scope of bitcoin anyway.

Using Bitcoin can be anonymous if you use it correctly and do not sell Bitcoin for fiat in an exchange. You don't need full anonymity for small amounts. I don't mind if someone knows I bought a cup of coffee with bitcoin this morning. If and when I need more anonymity, I use a mixer.

It is imperative that individuals and developers hold anonymity as a core principle within their beliefs, as anything other than anonymity, is not perfect privacy.

Improving security of the bitcoin network is more important than improving anonymity.

[redsn0w]

Bitcoin was never anonymous. It's pseudonymous, and it's up to the user(s) to understand that.

The beauty is that a savvy user can achieve either financial privacy or financial openness, depending on which option the situation requires.

This,

if someone still say bitcoin is anonymous, I think he should first inform himself and after talk. It's a personal choice reveal our own identity or am I wrong? If someone dosn't want to be "pseudo-anonymous" he is free to reveal who is behind that address (or those addresses).

bitcoin might become complete anon in future.

Forget it

Use Monero to stay untraceable

Not on the Monero train myself but definitely forget it, Bitcoin is becoming more transparent less anonymous the only ones anonymous take extreme measures to be.

Monero is not anoymous (again) , neither Darkcoin aka dash. So please stope to say that thing .

[Prosperityforall]

Bitcoin was never anonymous. It's pseudonymous, and it's up to the user(s) to understand that.

The beauty is that a savvy user can achieve either financial privacy or financial openness, depending on which option the situation requires.

This,

if someone still say bitcoin is anonymous, I think he should first inform himself and after talk. It's a personal choice reveal our own identity or am I wrong? If someone dosn't want to be "pseudo-anonymous" he is free to reveal who is behind that address (or those addresses).

bitcoin might become complete anon in future.

Forget it

Use Monero to stay untraceable

Not on the Monero train myself but definitely forget it, Bitcoin is becoming more transparent less anonymous the only ones anonymous take extreme measures to be.

Monero is not anoymous (again) , neither Darkcoin aka dash. So please stope to say that thing .

They're talking about relative anonymity, not absolute anonymity which is of course, impossible(Nothing, not even if you're invisible can be completely and wholly anonymous). In the case of relative anonymity, Monero, as it stands, is the most anonymous altcoin with it's Cryptonote system. Dash is just bitcoin with coinjoin/mixing in the the protocol instead of as a 3rd party, so it's entirely useless as you can just use Bitcoin with decentralized coinjoin/mixing(Darkwallet, Coinshuffle).

[GTO911]

Monero is not anoymous (again)

It is the only effective option at this time to stay untraceable

btw, it has the view key feature which allows you to turn off privacy on demand

https://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/ltb-e202-understanding-monero

[redsn0w]

Monero is not anoymous (again)

It is the only effective option at this time to stay untraceable

Then monero should replace bitcoin (under this point of view) but why does not it replace BTC? Because you can stay "anonymous" also with bitcoin if you know what are you doing. There are a lot of people who don't care so much about the anonimity, so as kingcolex "monero and Dash crowd are fighting constantly even when there is no place for it." but if someone want to say untraceable then he should use only monero or am I wrong?

[Prosperityforall]

Bitcoin was never anonymous. It's pseudonymous, and it's up to the user(s) to understand that.

The beauty is that a savvy user can achieve either financial privacy or financial openness, depending on which option the situation requires.

This,

if someone still say bitcoin is anonymous, I think he should first inform himself and after talk. It's a personal choice reveal our own identity or am I wrong? If someone dosn't want to be "pseudo-anonymous" he is free to reveal who is behind that address (or those addresses).

bitcoin might become complete anon in future.

Forget it

Use Monero to stay untraceable

Not on the Monero train myself but definitely forget it, Bitcoin is becoming more transparent less anonymous the only ones anonymous take extreme measures to be.

Monero is not anoymous (again) , neither Darkcoin aka dash. So please stope to say that thing .

They're talking about relative anonymity, not absolute anonymity which is of course, impossible(Nothing, not even if you're invisible can be completely and wholly anonymous). In the case of relative anonymity, Monero, as it stands, is the most anonymous altcoin with it's Cryptonote system. Dash is just bitcoin with coinjoin/mixing in the the protocol instead of as a 3rd party, so it's entirely useless as you can just use Bitcoin with decentralized coinjoin/mixing(Darkwallet, Coinshuffle).

Like I just said the monero and Dash crowd are fighting constantly even when there is no place for it.

I'm not going to argue with you on opinions of whether you think there's a place for it or not, but I will say that Dash is a scam. A currency like Dash with a 2million+ coin ouput in 2 days during the release and then have that ouput reduced by 300%+ by its developers right after, is a blatant scam.

P.S. Anonymity is the most important aspect besides Decentralization

[GTO911]

Then monero should replace bitcoin (under this point of view) but why does not it replace BTC?

Maybe it will

Because you can stay "anonymous" also with bitcoin if you know what are you doing.

Yea, trust third party honeypot mixers. Unfortunately the average joe doesnt know what he's doing

[bitllionaire]

Bitcoin is 100% anonymous,the users are the only ones that has to keep its anonymity,if nobody knows your address,your address is not linked to you,so you are anonymous

[Kprawn]

I doubt if anything you do on the internet is fully anonymous, even if you use Tor / Proxies / Private VPN's etc. etc..

Most people do understand that Bitcoin is not fully anonymous... most of us, acctually promote it as being pseudonymous...

It would be stupid to have a blockchain or a Alt coin based on the blockchain {cough.. Ripple} where you can identify everyone and see all the transactions they do. {Stalkers / hackers / thiefs and marketers will have a field day, with that knowledge.

So we use the blockchain in a way to hide our "treasure" from the people, who wants to steal it. {The traditional banking system, hides it's ledger to protect your financial information... why not with Bitcoin?}

Governments or a skilled hacker CAN still trace your identity with Bitcoin, if they used a little effort. {Browser finger printing etc.}

[Bit_Happy]

I strongly disagree.

The only effect BTC anonymity generates is to attract tons or scammers, thieves and ponzi pumpers to the industry. They are able to scam ordinary users, especially newbies and by doing this they do a lot of damage to the crypto world. Why would I want to support something like that?

Some people seek political freedom for honest reasons, freedom isn't always pretty, but many undesirable "thieves" will exist in any system. Bitcoin offers advantages that the others do not.

[NUFCrichard]

I doubt if anything you do on the internet is fully anonymous, even if you use Tor / Proxies / Private VPN's etc. etc..

Most people do understand that Bitcoin is not fully anonymous... most of us, acctually promote it as being pseudonymous...

It would be stupid to have a blockchain or a Alt coin based on the blockchain {cough.. Ripple} where you can identify everyone and see all the transactions they do. {Stalkers / hackers / thiefs and marketers will have a field day, with that knowledge.

So we use the blockchain in a way to hide our "treasure" from the people, who wants to steal it. {The traditional banking system, hides it's ledger to protect your financial information... why not with Bitcoin?}

Governments or a skilled hacker CAN still trace your identity with Bitcoin, if they used a little effort. {Browser finger printing etc.}

I'd go a step further and say that almost nothing in life is anonymous anymore, people are always tracked down or information leaked etc.

Bitcoin being anonymous means that it will never be mainstream, the move away from anonymity means that it is more likely to take off as a true internet currency, but in doing so it also means it will not be the currency that Satoshi had envisaged.  It's a bit of a catch22 really.

I imagine that soon they will have choked local bitcoin to near extinction, and all regulated exchanges will require KYC checks, so using bitcoin will be the same as using SWIFT, except for being cheaper and global and not so government controlled, and not being hyper-inflatable... it's still a good improvement over what we have now!

[crazyivan]

I strongly disagree.

The only effect BTC anonymity generates is to attract tons or scammers, thieves and ponzi pumpers to the industry. They are able to scam ordinary users, especially newbies and by doing this they do a lot of damage to the crypto world. Why would I want to support something like that?

Bitcoin was designed to be semi-anon.
For the blockchain to work, everything is known by everyone,
but no one (unless info is publicly given, such as tags) knows who actually controls which address.
That is the current anonymous aspect to Bitcoin, and is very important.

In the event that all addresses in the future, must be labeled with real people's identities (and verified),
whether to stop scams or for tax purposes, or to prevent other crimes or etc, then there is no point in using Bitcoin.
We just basically neutered Bitcoin and transformed it into a means for a totalitarian system of control.

We would basically have a open banking system that everyone can see all transactions and see who owns what, who sends money to who, and etc.
I could not think of a better system for governments to use to oppress the people for the new age of crypto-currency.

I disagree again. The main strengths of BTC should be the lack of fees, easy access to financing from anywhere, application built at the top of the blockchain, etc.etc. Nothing related to anonymity.
I will never advocate something which can help people avoid taxes, set dark markets, sell drugs, finance terrorism etc. I see this as unfortunate side effect of BTC which is there exactly due to the lack of any kind of control and consumer protection. Personally, I would like it to go away so we can have this beautiful new technology developing on new ideas, business, investment funds, increased financing options, BTC start-ups etc. All this has nothing to do with anonymity.

[redsn0w]

Then monero should replace bitcoin (under this point of view) but why does not it replace BTC?

Maybe it will

I do not think monero will replace bitcoin (as money).

Because you can stay "anonymous" also with bitcoin if you know what are you doing.

Yea, trust third party honeypot mixers. Unfortunately the average joe doesnt know what he's doing

Yes of course, a lot of people don't have the knowledge and they don't know what they are doing. This is the real problem, but with a few accorgment, you can have a good level of anonymity also with bitcoin.