How are bitcoins anonymous?

[jetto]

I've heard it said numerous times that bitcoins are anonymous. But how can that be the case if all transactions between every bitcoin address is public in the block chain? If for example I use BitInstant to buy bitcoins through a cash deposit—which requires using my name‚and have it sent to a specific bitcoin address, then couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain?

As long as you're buying bitcoins with dollars, I can't see how anyone could be sure they're completely anonymous.

[BTC Books]

I've heard it said numerous times that bitcoins are anonymous. But how can that be the case if all transactions between every bitcoin address is public in the block chain? If for example I use BitInstant to buy bitcoins through a cash deposit—which requires using my name‚and have it sent to a specific bitcoin address, then couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain?

As long as you're buying bitcoins with dollars, I can't see how anyone could be sure they're completely anonymous.

Upgrade your sources of information.  Nobody who understands how bitcoin works makes the claim that it's anonymous.  Pseudonymous, yes.

And, with difficulty and effort, they can be made reasonably anonymous - but never perfectly.  Your example is valid - and any time you link your name to a bitcoin transaction, that name and that wallet are pretty much linked forever:  so it follows that if you stay in bitcoin exclusively, never link a name, never buy anything in meatspace that requires a meatspace name and address to ship... etc., you'll be sufficiently anonymous for most practical purposes.  The are also coin mixers that will launder your existing coins, disassociating them from your current wallets.

Have fun with your research into this well-documented issue!

[Peter Todd]

If you can't decide for yourself if the way you are using Bitcoin is or is not anonymous I would strongly encourage you to assume that it is not.

[yvv]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

[Come-from-Beyond]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

[yvv]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

[Come-from-Beyond]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

[yvv]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Shit. I did not know this.

[gweedo]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Shit. I did not know this.

Not true, it records the IP address of the node that relayed the transactions to them. Just don't connect to them and your fine.

[Come-from-Beyond]

couldn't BitInstant just save my bitcoin address to my name and be able to track exactly where those coins go forever using the block chain

Just send your BTC to a new wallet and delete the one you used to buy bitcoins. Nobody will know, did you send your BTC to yourself or to somebody else.

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Shit. I did not know this.

Don't worry. If that was just once then u can say that u just relayed a transaction.

[Come-from-Beyond]

Not true, it records the IP address of the node that relayed the transactions to them. Just don't connect to them and your fine.

If u buy drugs and pay from "tied" addresses, and ur IP in most of this transactions then it will be quite hard to prove that it wasn't u.

EDIT: U can play with http://blockchain.info/ip-address/127.0.0.1

[Come-from-Beyond]

Not true, it records the IP address of the node that relayed the transactions to them. Just don't connect to them and your fine.

If u buys drugs and pay from "tied" addresses, and ur IP in most of this transactions then it will be quite hard to prove that it wasn't u.

The blockchain itself holds no ip information, and if you don't connect to blockchain.info's node, how can they find your ip? They can't. Remember bitcoin's is anonymous if you make it anonymous

Blockchain.Info is usually connected to 1000 nodes. What's its IP to avoid accidental connection?

[gweedo]

Not true, it records the IP address of the node that relayed the transactions to them. Just don't connect to them and your fine.

If u buys drugs and pay from "tied" addresses, and ur IP in most of this transactions then it will be quite hard to prove that it wasn't u.

The blockchain itself holds no ip information, and if you don't connect to blockchain.info's node, how can they find your ip? They can't. Remember bitcoin's is anonymous if you make it anonymous

Blockchain.Info is usually connected to 1000 nodes. What's its IP to avoid accidental connection?

I don't know, I use the -connect switch to connect to only nodes I trust. Also I use tor

[charleshoskinson]

Finally Gweedo and I agree on something. Please use tor.

[luv2drnkbr]

OP, the simple answer is that bitcoin *addresses* are tracked, but there is nothing that associates your IRL identity with an address.  If you use an exchange that knows your IRL and cash out to an address, the police can ask the exchange and the exchange can say "we think this address probably belongs to him", but all you have to do then is send to one other address, and claim you bought something from somebody, and bam, no more link to you IRL.

If you REALLY want to be anonymous, you have to set up fake accounts on exchanges, and move money in and out of them to the point where the original paper trail is simply too long and too obscure to follow.

But you are absolutely correct that it is possible to follow every transaction, it's just difficult to link an IRL identity with an address, and since you can create as many addresses as you want on whim, and create fake transactions to yourself over and over again, it's possible to obscure your bitcoins to the point of anonymity.

[yvv]

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Just checked my last transaction cffb723e5dc2c0176d1deb0739b5126403c6d603d5456474450838c2884bb7f0 , and I do not see IP address where this transaction was made from.  The one on the "relayed by ip" line is not mine. Can you determine my IP using this info?

P.S. Anonymity is not a big deal for me, just curious if it is really true.

[Elwar]

People who want Bitcoin to be anonymous can make it anonymous for themselves.

Same as with using cash for things you do not want people to know about instead of traceable purchases.

[Cryptoman]

Just checked my last transaction cffb723e5dc2c0176d1deb0739b5126403c6d603d5456474450838c2884bb7f0 , and I do not see IP address where this transaction was made from.  The one on the "relayed by ip" line is not mine. Can you determine my IP using this info?

P.S. Anonymity is not a big deal for me, just curious if it is really true.

No, your address cannot be determined from blockchain.info.  At any point in time there might be 10,000 or more instances of bitcoin-qt or other full-node software running.  Blockchain.info is only connected to a small subset of these.  A transaction might get passed through many nodes before being "seen" by blockchain.info, so there is no way to know if the IP address stored on their site is the true originator of the transaction.

Having said that, I still think it is a very bad practice for blockchain.info to be recording IP addresses (with friends like that, who needs enemies?).  They should, at a minimum, publish a list of all listening addresses, and the client needs to have the option of rejecting a list of nodes.  In the absence of these measures, a good way to protect your anonymity and also help the network is to leave the client running all the time.  Soon there will be hundreds of transactions recorded on blockchain.info as having originated from your IP, when in fact none may have.

[Come-from-Beyond]

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Just checked my last transaction cffb723e5dc2c0176d1deb0739b5126403c6d603d5456474450838c2884bb7f0 , and I do not see IP address where this transaction was made from.  The one on the "relayed by ip" line is not mine. Can you determine my IP using this info?

P.S. Anonymity is not a big deal for me, just curious if it is really true.

No, I can't determine. But govt agents have much more chances to track u down.

[glitch003]

IP address will be the same. So don't forget to change it. And never use these coins with ur old IP.

Is IP address recorded in the blockchain?

No, but http://blockchain.info does it.

Just checked my last transaction cffb723e5dc2c0176d1deb0739b5126403c6d603d5456474450838c2884bb7f0 , and I do not see IP address where this transaction was made from.  The one on the "relayed by ip" line is not mine. Can you determine my IP using this info?

P.S. Anonymity is not a big deal for me, just curious if it is really true.

No, I can't determine. But govt agents have much more chances to track u down.

Please, elaborate.