Why aren't Bitcoin addresses transferrable like a phone number?

[creame]

Why aren't Bitcoin addresses transferrable like a phone number?
In the old days, if you changed your phone carrier, you would have to change your phone number. Now you can take your phone number with you when you change carrier.

Would it be an advantage or a disadvantage?

Thanks for your insights and forgive my ignorance.

[CryptosapienZA]

Why aren't Bitcoin addresses transferrable like a phone number?
In the old days, if you changed your phone carrier, you would have to change your phone number. Now you can take your phone number with you when you change carrier.

Would it be an advantage or a disadvantage?

Thanks for your insights and forgive my ignorance.

The disadvantage is that you can't change your private keys, so once you have an address. The private keys will remains the same forever. So if the addresses were transferable that means at anytime could access or steal your money. This feature at the same time is an advantage. As you are guarenteesd the address is yours for ever.
 Even when you have not used it in a long time, noone will just come and close it for no reason.

[Phoenixpple]

The phone number can find its source. Anonymous performance is not very good. But bitcoin after the transfer, there is no way to find the source of. That's the biggest advantage of bitcoin

[GreenBits]

This honestly is kind of an apples/oranges thing. think of your bitcoin address as a phone number (that no one knows who the number belongs to). you can "port" the number into as many wallets as you want, as long as the wallet will allow you to import a private key. the problem is that this is poor practice; you will expose the key to potential discovery if you keep entering it into fields. you never know if the device you are using is compromised in some novel way that an antivirus is not able to detect yet.

but to get back to the root question, i guess if you want to look at it, bitcoin addys are kinda of like phone numbers.

[creame]

This honestly is kind of an apples/oranges thing. think of your bitcoin address as a phone number (that no one knows who the number belongs to). you can "port" the number into as many wallets as you want, as long as the wallet will allow you to import a private key. the problem is that this is poor practice; you will expose the key to potential discovery if you keep entering it into fields. you never know if the device you are using is compromised in some novel way that an antivirus is not able to detect yet.

but to get back to the root question, i guess if you want to look at it, bitcoin addys are kinda of like phone numbers.

Thanks for your explanation.

It clarifies the security risk created by it being portable. I was thinking of it as an email address that you could open anywhere. On second thought, i can see that in addition to the risk of exposing the key to various platforms, email systems like yahoo and google are centralized, if I understand it right.

Thanks again

[creame]

The phone number can find its source. Anonymous performance is not very good. But bitcoin after the transfer, there is no way to find the source of. That's the biggest advantage of bitcoin

Anonymity is more important than Convenience.
Thanks

[pooya87]

i suggest you take a look at the Misconceptions about a bitcoin address here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Address#Misconceptions

it is mainly about the Address reuse. you should not even be thinking about reusing the same address more than once unless you are forced to, like accepting a donation so you have to put up 1 address. and in that case your address has a "private key" which you can use to take anywhere! import in any wallet and have your address with you.

[creame]

i suggest you take a look at the Misconceptions about a bitcoin address here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Address#Misconceptions

it is mainly about the Address reuse. you should not even be thinking about reusing the same address more than once unless you are forced to, like accepting a donation so you have to put up 1 address. and in that case your address has a "private key" which you can use to take anywhere! import in any wallet and have your address with you.

Wow
thanks for the link

You just blew my mind.

I read the explanation and it nothing like I thought. You just schooled me.
That whole page has some good stuff.

thanks man