Legitimate reasons for needing your bitcoin 'washed'

[serjent05]

Apparently some people feel that Bitcoins are not all equal, for example a Bitcoin that was once involved in illegal activities is 'tainted' and in their eyes worth less than a 'clean' Bitcoin. Personally I think the whole concept is nonsensical, I couldn't care less about where my Bitcoins come from, my conscience is clear and that's good enough for me. I think it would be unfortunate for Bitcoin if this were to become the norm.

That concept completely gives no sense that the coins once involved in a illegal activity they are not the same as they were before or they are not considered as clean as they were before being used in that way, all the coins you have are the same, whether you got them from a criminal or from someone who earned them in a legal way, once they are kept together they are the same.

Also, some legal/regulated bitcoin service now use service which can detect whether the coins is clean/tainted.
In rare cases, those coins could be rejected and reported to government/got banned immediately.

The most common example is where coinbase give warning/freeze/ban to user who received bitcoin from gambling website and send bitcoin to gambling website.

Well if you are going to use their services then you have to follow their rules.  If you don't want better find other site to do business or use their service.  At some point i would I agree to this kind of rulings.  We all know that bitcoin had been invovled in different illegal trades right before the day merchants accept them.  In my opinion, this is a move to clear doubts of those new people who wants to get in bitcoin, that the one they are using does not came from illegal activities.

[Milkduds]

We are in a time where we do not know what the future holds for bitcoin when it comes to regulation and rules,so keeping as much cloaking as you can has to be the best way to proceed for the future. I also limit myself to social media that has no real details and go looking to make sure I do not have to much personal details floating around the net.
As much as we control it is really just a attempt. I google myself from time to time and recently came across a problem. My email,cell number and location where all there to be seen for like a week until it suddenly disappeared. The problem being that only government had all those details when I opened a business and so some one that worked there leaked it knowingly or its just standard practice for them to air it out like that.
Was a shocker but it is not the first time I have come across issues and I try to keep all my details offline as much as possible.

Should be in every ones interest to limit exposure for when the potential crack down happens,they will most likely not see a difference in current and past users.

[wxa7115]

I could write about several “legitimate” reasons but the most important is simply because you can, there is nothing wrong in itself to want your coins washed, so it should not be a suspicious thing at all.

[CasioK]

Apparently some people feel that Bitcoins are not all equal, for example a Bitcoin that was once involved in illegal activities is 'tainted' and in their eyes worth less than a 'clean' Bitcoin. Personally I think the whole concept is nonsensical, I couldn't care less about where my Bitcoins come from, my conscience is clear and that's good enough for me. I think it would be unfortunate for Bitcoin if this were to become the norm.

That concept completely gives no sense that the coins once involved in a illegal activity they are not the same as they were before or they are not considered as clean as they were before being used in that way, all the coins you have are the same, whether you got them from a criminal or from someone who earned them in a legal way, once they are kept together they are the same.

Also, some legal/regulated bitcoin service now use service which can detect whether the coins is clean/tainted.
In rare cases, those coins could be rejected and reported to government/got banned immediately.

The most common example is where coinbase give warning/freeze/ban to user who received bitcoin from gambling website and send bitcoin to gambling website.

I think the person who receives the coin should not be held countable for the coin received if it were a stolen or hacked one, because the receiver can offer a service or product and they are paid with that coin.
In this instance, the receiver earned the coin legitimately even if the coin was stolen or hacked.

[MingLee]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

Just not wanting people to follow your finances if you use a single wallet, or mixing them because you believe they might have come from an unsavory source and might have someone else trailing them are legitimate reasons for mixing your Bitcoin.

[OneSat Oshi Project]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

To enable a person to make a donation be it large or small to remain anonymous to the recipient.

[20kevin20]

If you want to stay anonymous or private. For example, when doing an illegal transaction you don't want anybody to find about. It would become very hard to be traced, so you will have your transaction anonymous.

[wxa7115]

Apparently some people feel that Bitcoins are not all equal, for example a Bitcoin that was once involved in illegal activities is 'tainted' and in their eyes worth less than a 'clean' Bitcoin. Personally I think the whole concept is nonsensical, I couldn't care less about where my Bitcoins come from, my conscience is clear and that's good enough for me. I think it would be unfortunate for Bitcoin if this were to become the norm.

That concept completely gives no sense that the coins once involved in a illegal activity they are not the same as they were before or they are not considered as clean as they were before being used in that way, all the coins you have are the same, whether you got them from a criminal or from someone who earned them in a legal way, once they are kept together they are the same.

Also, some legal/regulated bitcoin service now use service which can detect whether the coins is clean/tainted.
In rare cases, those coins could be rejected and reported to government/got banned immediately.

The most common example is where coinbase give warning/freeze/ban to user who received bitcoin from gambling website and send bitcoin to gambling website.

I think the person who receives the coin should not be held countable for the coin received if it were a stolen or hacked one, because the receiver can offer a service or product and they are paid with that coin.
In this instance, the receiver earned the coin legitimately even if the coin was stolen or hacked.

That is a mistake the quantity of bitcoin cannot go down but it goes up every day with the bitcoins that are mines, the only moment when the amount of bitcoins will no longer go up is when all the 21 million bitcoins have been mined.

[Wind_FURY]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

You want a legitimate reason to get your Bitcoins tumbled? Fungibility. Some online services like Coinbase are starting to block Bitcoins used in online gambling from entering their services. If more and more services and exchanges start doing this practice then this will affect the value of the coins. One coin that went thru the darknet market or thru a gambling site would potentially become less valuable compared to the clean coins.

This is not a flaw in Bitcoin per se but some centralized services have a choice to accept certain inputs or not depending on their rules and policies.

[OROBTC]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

Privacy is not just for criminals. You should read gmaxwell's post on coinjoin here
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=279249.0

... Your inlaws don't see that you're buying birth control that deprives them of grand children, your employer doesn't learn about the non-profits you support with money from your paycheck, and thieves don't see your latest purchases or how wealthy you are to help them target and scam you. Poor privacy in Bitcoin can be a major practical disadvantage for both individuals and businesses.

panju1 nails it, IMO.

Your BTC are no one else's business.  I don't do illegal things, but I sure as hell don't want casual (or not so casual) thieves eyeing me or my family as a target.  And if you count Landlords and Employers, it is none of their business either.

Mixing BTC protects those your SEND BTC to as well, particularly businesses.  Were I running a business, I would offer a discount vs. cash (the only business I send BTC to is Provident Metals, and I send them mixed coins -- alas, Privident charges 1% more for payment by BTC).

[pooya87]

Apparently some people feel that Bitcoins are not all equal, for example a Bitcoin that was once involved in illegal activities is 'tainted' and in their eyes worth less than a 'clean' Bitcoin. Personally I think the whole concept is nonsensical, I couldn't care less about where my Bitcoins come from, my conscience is clear and that's good enough for me. I think it would be unfortunate for Bitcoin if this were to become the norm.

That concept completely gives no sense that the coins once involved in a illegal activity they are not the same as they were before or they are not considered as clean as they were before being used in that way, all the coins you have are the same, whether you got them from a criminal or from someone who earned them in a legal way, once they are kept together they are the same.

Also, some legal/regulated bitcoin service now use service which can detect whether the coins is clean/tainted.
In rare cases, those coins could be rejected and reported to government/got banned immediately.

The most common example is where coinbase give warning/freeze/ban to user who received bitcoin from gambling website and send bitcoin to gambling website.

I think the person who receives the coin should not be held countable for the coin received if it were a stolen or hacked one, because the receiver can offer a service or product and they are paid with that coin.
In this instance, the receiver earned the coin legitimately even if the coin was stolen or hacked.

That is a mistake the quantity of bitcoin cannot go down but it goes up every day with the bitcoins that are mines, the only moment when the amount of bitcoins will no longer go up is when all the 21 million bitcoins have been mined.

you are quoting something and replying something else which is irrelevant to the argument above it!

and just FYI, bitcoin quantity can go down and has gone down. yes it is being mined everyday and new coins are created everyday so the total is increasing but also there have been so many losses like lost passwords to encrypted wallets, or lost wallets because of HDD malfunction, or even some burnt coins which are no longer spendable .

[CraigWrightBTC]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

Of course for there are not people who can track my transaction because as we know bitcoins is not realy anonimous, some time we need bitcoins mixing services.

[Milkduds]

What legitimate reasons are there for wanting one's bitcoin 'mixed' or 'anonymized?' 

You want a legitimate reason to get your Bitcoins tumbled? Fungibility. Some online services like Coinbase are starting to block Bitcoins used in online gambling from entering their services. If more and more services and exchanges start doing this practice then this will affect the value of the coins. One coin that went thru the darknet market or thru a gambling site would potentially become less valuable compared to the clean coins.

This is not a flaw in Bitcoin per se but some centralized services have a choice to accept certain inputs or not depending on their rules and policies.

Im curious about sites doing this in attempts to play ball with government in the future. Could we not start washing every coin we come across in a gambling site?
This would make it near impossible for people to use coinbase due to a large segment of the coin being connected in this manner.
Or they just stopping direct connections from gambling sites?

Its crazy seeing sites manipulate us into playing ball.

[mindrust]

I also don't care where my bitcoins came from but it bugs me if someone from the government would knock my door and question me some day because of the illegal activies that the older owner of my coins have done. They may find my pirated software stash and i can be in trouble out of nothing!

[neochiny]

"Legitimate" or in other words "legal". See, when one puts it like that, why would one need a legal reason for needing to 'wash' their own bitcoin.

Yes, I am aware that some ill-gotten coins are washed on mixers and such, which is what gives the act of 'washing/mixing' a bad impression, but still, for those who actually cares about their privacy, that shouldn't stop them.

Still, I get that some are turned away/scared of using a mixer because they might get accused of being involved with some 'shady' business. Can't be helped. In the end, it's still up to an individual to weigh the pros and cons for themselves.