My girlfriend has questions for the forum...

[Harpua]

Ok, so my girlfriend has recently asked me why I have been online for a while, and told her about the forum and why I invest my time and money into bitcoin/cryptos and it's forum.  She had a list of questions for me which I couldn't seem to give her the best answer to and found myself stumbling to come up with a short and direct answer.  She has asked the questions below and I would like to get an answer for each so I could tell her in a very easy way for me and her to understand.  I reworded her questions into away in which it would make the most sense.

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

2) How many people develop bitcoin? If it's a decentralized currency then if these people control how the currency works, how would that make it decentralized?

3) If it is a currency that can be used in a sort of anonymous way, then how can governments regulate it in a way to make sure that people aren't funding bad organizations like ISIS and drug lords?  "Harpua" has told me about what silk road was and the way the darknet markets work, but how can this be prevented?

4) My dad works in a government facility where he deals with high clearance documents in a high security facility.  His organization has just been recently hacked by the Chinese government and lost dozens of top secret information including SS#'s, locations of the homes of workers, basically any personal information about the workers of his business and his families (which includes me). How can cryptocurrencies ever be a secure enough form of transactions where governments and top notch hackers can't just find a way to hack into the blockchain database?

I found myself trying to sell her on why this form of currency is important and why it should be used.  But I couldn't find a reason why it is important without getting to sketchy businesses that need a sort of anonymous payment; like darknet sites.  Any simple explanations would be of real help, and she'll probably have more questions for you guys in the long run... we've been drinking and I'm trying to introduce her into the world of crypto which I have just been introduced to myself...

Thanks.

[achow101]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

It can be anonymous since you don't necessarily have to buy Bitcoin with debit/credit cards or bank accounts. You can mine them, but that costs a lot of money to get the equipment. The mined bitcoin itself is completely anonymous as it has never been spent before or passed any exchange. You can also do some work (like I do) and earn your Bitcoin that way. That way your identity is never revealed to anyone.

2) How many people develop bitcoin? If it's a decentralized currency then if these people control how the currency works, how would that make it decentralized?

This is the full list of the people that have created a commit to the Bitcoin Core github repository, which essentially determines the network rules. https://bitcoin.org/en/development#bitcoin-core-contributors
However, no one is required to follow them. Anyone at any time can fork Bitcoin and change the rules. If people like those rules, than they switch to that and that could become the "new bitcoin". This is how it is decentralized.

3) If it is a currency that can be used in a sort of anonymous way, then how can governments regulate it in a way to make sure that people aren't funding bad organizations like ISIS and drug lords?  "Harpua" has told me about what silk road was and the way the darknet markets work, but how can this be prevented?

It is very difficult to regulate, and it cannot really be regulated. It works in the same way that transferring cash does, you give someone a stack of cash in some shady back alley, no one can really regulate that, short of going there and busting you.

4) My dad works in a government facility where he deals with high clearance documents in a high security facility.  His organization has just been recently hacked by the Chinese government and lost dozens of top secret information including SS#'s, locations of the homes of workers, basically any personal information about the workers of his business and his families (which includes me). How can cryptocurrencies ever be a secure enough form of transactions where governments and top notch hackers can't just find a way to hack into the blockchain database?

The blockchain is a ledger, not a database. There isn't really any sensitive information stored in it, just transactions. It is distributed to every full node (a computer that receives all transactions and blocks and verifies and validates them according to the consensus rules) What do you exactly mean by "hack into the blockchain database"?

[VirosaGITS]

Ok, so my girlfriend has recently asked me why I have been online for a while, and told her about the forum and why I invest my time and money into bitcoin/cryptos and it's forum.  She had a list of questions for me which I couldn't seem to give her the best answer to and found myself stumbling to come up with a short and direct answer.  She has asked the questions below and I would like to get an answer for each so I could tell her in a very easy way for me and her to understand.  I reworded her questions into away in which it would make the most sense.

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

2) How many people develop bitcoin? If it's a decentralized currency then if these people control how the currency works, how would that make it decentralized?

3) If it is a currency that can be used in a sort of anonymous way, then how can governments regulate it in a way to make sure that people aren't funding bad organizations like ISIS and drug lords?  "Harpua" has told me about what silk road was and the way the darknet markets work, but how can this be prevented?

4) My dad works in a government facility where he deals with high clearance documents in a high security facility.  His organization has just been recently hacked by the Chinese government and lost dozens of top secret information including SS#'s, locations of the homes of workers, basically any personal information about the workers of his business and his families (which includes me). How can cryptocurrencies ever be a secure enough form of transactions where governments and top notch hackers can't just find a way to hack into the blockchain database?

I found myself trying to sell her on why this form of currency is important and why it should be used.  But I couldn't find a reason why it is important without getting to sketchy businesses that need a sort of anonymous payment; like darknet sites.  Any simple explanations would be of real help, and she'll probably have more questions for you guys in the long run... we've been drinking and I'm trying to introduce her into the world of crypto which I have just been introduced to myself...

Thanks.

1)Okay... Bitcoin is not anonymous. It is pseudo-anonymous. And many obtain BTC without using debit/credit card. For example i mine it, so its completely anonymous, but BTC itself is not fully anonymous because of the complete traceability between transactions. There are way to go around this however.

2)BTC isint being managed by a company. Anyone can post a new version and the network will vote to jump on it or not. Not just the corebitcoin wallet devloppers do this. Proof is how many wallet there are out there.

3)You can't prevent crime using Bitcoin. Or cash. Or laundering money through shell corp. BTC is a criminal's currency is a fallacy.

4)The database is public, hacking to access this information would be pointless. The security lies in how impossible it is to crack the encryption. You'd need to brute force against #e57 values that would take literally forever.

[Sir_lagsalot]

Ok, so my girlfriend has recently asked me why I have been online for a while, and told her about the forum and why I invest my time and money into bitcoin/cryptos and it's forum.  She had a list of questions for me which I couldn't seem to give her the best answer to and found myself stumbling to come up with a short and direct answer.  She has asked the questions below and I would like to get an answer for each so I could tell her in a very easy way for me and her to understand.  I reworded her questions into away in which it would make the most sense.

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

I found myself trying to sell her on why this form of currency is important and why it should be used.  But I couldn't find a reason why it is important without getting to sketchy businesses that need a sort of anonymous payment; like darknet sites.  Any simple explanations would be of real help, and she'll probably have more questions for you guys in the long run... we've been drinking and I'm trying to introduce her into the world of crypto which I have just been introduced to myself...

Thanks.

1) Sure, that part isnt anonymous, but transacting bitcoin to bitcoin is anonymous, as it only provides the bitcoin adress.

[achow101]

1) Sure, that part isnt anonymous, but transacting bitcoin to bitcoin is anonymous, as it only provides the bitcoin adress.

It is actually pseudonymous, you sometimes can trace a bitcoin address to an identity, it is just very very very hard.

[nydiacaskey01]

1) Sure, that part isnt anonymous, but transacting bitcoin to bitcoin is anonymous, as it only provides the bitcoin adress.

It is actually pseudonymous, you sometimes can trace a bitcoin address to an identity, it is just very very very hard.

What about those buys coins from exchanges where exchanges requires identification before you can buy bitcoins, isn't that already exposing your self that you are a Bitcoin user?

[achow101]

1) Sure, that part isnt anonymous, but transacting bitcoin to bitcoin is anonymous, as it only provides the bitcoin adress.

It is actually pseudonymous, you sometimes can trace a bitcoin address to an identity, it is just very very very hard.

What about those buys coins from exchanges where exchanges requires identification before you can buy bitcoins, isn't that already exposing your self that you are a Bitcoin user?

yes, but sir_lagsalot was talking about bitcoin transactions, which can be traced back to an identity, just not very easily (in most cases).

[odolvlobo]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

Bitcoins are not completely anonymous, but they can be very difficult to track. I could send bitcoins to Wikileaks, for example, and it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find out where they came from. You can buy bitcoins with cash.

2) How many people develop bitcoin? If it's a decentralized currency then if these people control how the currency works, how would that make it decentralized?

There are hundreds of people developing bitcoin software. Anybody can develop bitcoin software. But you do bring up a good point. People that want someone to be in charge consider the Bitcoin Core developers to be in charge of Bitcoin. That is a problem.

3) If it is a currency that can be used in a sort of anonymous way, then how can governments regulate it in a way to make sure that people aren't funding bad organizations like ISIS and drug lords?  "Harpua" has told me about what silk road was and the way the darknet markets work, but how can this be prevented?

They can try, but Bitcoin is regulation-resistant because nobody controls it. Law enforcement agencies don't have to track how you spend your money in order to prevent crime. They have other tools to prevent crime like listening to your phone conversations and reading your mail.

4) My dad works in a government facility where he deals with high clearance documents in a high security facility.  His organization has just been recently hacked by the Chinese government and lost dozens of top secret information including SS#'s, locations of the homes of workers, basically any personal information about the workers of his business and his families (which includes me). How can cryptocurrencies ever be a secure enough form of transactions where governments and top notch hackers can't just find a way to hack into the blockchain database?

The block chain database is public information. No hacking is necessary. Bitcoin is a solution to fraud and identity theft because merchants don't need to store your identity and spending authorization (unless the law requires them to).

[Amph]

why they should regulate bitcoin, when their own scam is beyond any definition of regulation? nothing is really regulate, banks are playing a criminal game all the time behind the scene

on the anonymous part and mining, i think there are chance that they could search for shipping equipment and thus tracking you in some way, or at least now that you're mining, so receiving bitcoin

signature campaign are more anonymous, because you're payed directly in bitcoin, by invsting only your time

[Furio]

The bitcoin debitcard question is a no brainer I think, cash is king....

[Harpua]

Dont try to make her understand and mess with her
Some gfs won't even try to understand us

well she asked very good questions, which means she is kind of interested
i see this as good: if somebody dived this deep he deserves answers.

btw. thanks knightdk: very good compilation

Lol, she is interested about everything which I love about her... I think she was just more worried that I was getting into something way over my head

She's still asleep right now, I'll let her know of all the answers you guys gave... we got a little drunk last night and we were shooting the shit.  I think she's very skeptical about the security matters in cryptocurrencies because her dad is a IT guy that works for a pretty big corporation that deals with high clearance stuff... and the fact that the Chinese just hacked EVERYTHING they were doing and personal info about themselves and everything.

Which is surprising, because her dad is the kind of guy that knew my middle name before she did lol... 

[TheGame]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

You don't have to buy them with your bank details. Meet someone face to face and give them cash.

3) If it is a currency that can be used in a sort of anonymous way, then how can governments regulate it in a way to make sure that people aren't funding bad organizations like ISIS and drug lords?  "Harpua" has told me about what silk road was and the way the darknet markets work, but how can this be prevented?

They can't ultimately just like they cant stop them using cash.

[onemorexmr]

Dont try to make her understand and mess with her
Some gfs won't even try to understand us

well she asked very good questions, which means she is kind of interested
i see this as good: if somebody dived this deep he deserves answers.

btw. thanks knightdk: very good compilation

Lol, she is interested about everything which I love about her... I think she was just more worried that I was getting into something way over my head

She's still asleep right now, I'll let her know of all the answers you guys gave... we got a little drunk last night and we were shooting the shit.  I think she's very skeptical about the security matters in cryptocurrencies because her dad is a IT guy that works for a pretty big corporation that deals with high clearance stuff... and the fact that the Chinese just hacked EVERYTHING they were doing and personal info about themselves and everything.

Which is surprising, because her dad is the kind of guy that knew my middle name before she did lol... 

i like her dad.. keep her!

i have answered the security concerns to myself: bitcoins allows me to be my own bank. but that means i am self responsible for my mistakes.

its not possible to hack the blockchain though: but it is possible that your pc is hacked and somebody stole your private keys.
if you put a bigger amount in bitcoin the following rule apply: dont put all eggs in one basket (eg use multiple paper wallets, store a wallet on an usb stick, if you have an offline pc: use it)

[jbrnt]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

[Mickeyb]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

[Harpua]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

Is that for real? I would imagine that that would only be applicable to people in NY due to the new laws regarding Bitcoin... Right?

[achow101]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

Is that for real? I would imagine that that would only be applicable to people in NY due to the new laws regarding Bitcoin... Right?

I don't think so, just don't buy a lot at one time. Also be careful of people who will try to run with your money. Always to face to face transactions in a public place where there are lots of witnesses.

[Mickeyb]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

Is that for real? I would imagine that that would only be applicable to people in NY due to the new laws regarding Bitcoin... Right?

Just one of the threads that you can find online..

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=543688

[VirosaGITS]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

Is that for real? I would imagine that that would only be applicable to people in NY due to the new laws regarding Bitcoin... Right?

Just one of the threads that you can find online..

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=543688

That sound unbelievable. Its as if the government is trying to scare people out of Bitcoin. I'm guessing if you previously declared your BTC revenue then you could be okay but if you just buy some Bitcoin to buy stuff with it, then its in no way an income and they're going to ignore your civil rights and just charge you?

Thats disgusting.

[Harpua]

1) How do people think that bitcoin is actually anonymous? You would have to buy them with your debit card/credit card in which banks have your information... why would you think that this stuff is actually anonymous and could be used in such a way?

There are other fairly anonymous ways to buy bitcoin like from forum members or other face-to-face deals. After you have bought bitcoin, there are also means to loose the trail of your coins, making it harder for people to track your spending and ownership. Some would tell you that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, I would say you can make bitcoin as anonymous as you need.

Just be careful buying bitcoins face to face in the US using localbitcoins. The newest fashion over there are undercover agents that are meeting people over localbitcoins and then arresting them and charging them. Freaking unbelievable!

Is that for real? I would imagine that that would only be applicable to people in NY due to the new laws regarding Bitcoin... Right?

I don't think so, just don't buy a lot at one time. Also be careful of people who will try to run with your money. Always to face to face transactions in a public place where there are lots of witnesses.

I don't think I feel quite comfortable with this... this makes me feel like I'm going to meet some "Heisenburg" of BTC and the deal will somehow go wrong and I will be either shot or get my money/car stolen from me. I think for now I will just buy off exchange sites... I don't see how that way of buying bitcoin will be beneficial.

Also, she says thank you to her posts! She isn't really ready to invest, but she thinks it's interesting...