[2015-08-24] Mixing Services Compound Bitcoin’s PR Problem

[jdebunt]

http://bitcoinist.net/mixing-services-compound-bitcoins-pr-problem/

Many people are drawn to Bitcoin and virtual currencies for the illusion of being able to move funds around in an anonymous way. However, with the blockchain acting as a transparent ledger, there is no such thing as anonymity in the Bitcoin space. Unless Bitcoin users actively use mixing and anonymizing services, that is. But do these services harm Bitcoin’s public image, or are they beneficial to the ecosystem?

[Kprawn]

Bitcoin mixers and anonymizing services just gives you the same anonymity that cash gives you. When you draw cash at a ATM and you spend it somewhere it can be traced via

serial numbers etc... but it's cumbersome and most people would not go through the trouble to do that, to know what you spending patterns are or what you do with your money.

When you use these services, you just add a extra level of "security" to your financial matters to protect your finances from marketing companies and and online thief's.

Why would you allow EVERYONE to know how much money you have? It will only paint a target on your back for people who would say... "abduct" your kids and use them

for ransom or break into your house to get to your private keys...

Everyone using these services are not criminals... they just need to protect themselves and their family and their financial privacy. 

These features are not built into Bitcoin... so people use these services for that option. 

[BurtW]

Bitcoin mixing is necessary to preserve the fungibility of the system.  Without mixing Bitcoin will deteriorate from a fungible currency type thing to a collectible graded coin type thing.

It is an unfortunate fact/flaw in the design of the Bitcoin protocol that automatic mixing of transactions in every block was not designed in from day one.

So, everyone that cares about Bitcoin should mix their coins as often as they can afford to.