Bitcoin and anonymity

[player514]

The majority of people don't use cryptos for a privacy purpose,. Sadly, most use them to speculate only. If you tell them about cryptography, blockchain they don't understand and don't give a fuck about it.
Those concerned with their privacy are using the anon coins but as the percentage of people isn't big, the market isn't big neither.

I believe this is going to change in 2-3 years and the anon coins will be more recognized and more used only when people will realize how their privacy has been taken over and what were the real reasons for creating Bitcoin

Eh, I don't think I'd agree with your first statement completely. Sure, maybe not a majority of people are using cyrptocurrency as privacy measures or even as a currency in itself, but I believe that those who transact those hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars in crypto are using bitcoin solely because of its anonymity. After all, governments are finding a major issue in bitcoin due to this. People can be using the coins to transact for illegal activity. ISIS has been found to use bitcoin and supporters have also been sending money through BTC.

I think the anonymity is a major part of what makes bitcoin bitcoin even though it may not be for the best purposes.

[sunneybitc]

Bitcoin is pseudo anonymous. There isn't 100% anonyminty with it. The only coin that is 100% anonymous is Monero.

[jseverson]

The role of Anonymity in Bitcoin. is a course built around the question, "Is bitcoin really anonymous? " and it is a question that a lot of people are starting to ask as they enter the market. Some of you who may have been interested in cryptocurrency for a while might not even know that Bitcoin is not very anonymous. Now you might be thinking, what if I use mixers/tangles etc? The fact is, technology is being built, and some has already been built to figure out the path of transactions. Which can lead to your individual identity if you ever try to actually utilize the value of bitcoin.

Is privacy really a big deal? I created a thread a little while ago to see some peoples opinion : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2479788.msg25386090#msg25386090

And it seems that it is a huge deal, however we can see that Bitcoin is not really that anonymous  . So the question is, why aren't privacy coins much bigger in terms of market cap? If people really value privacy, and there a ton of better options, why are we still stuck on Bitcoin that in some ways is inefficient?


Thoughts?

This is a question that can be answered with another question: Why is Bitcoin the most valuable cryptocurrency when it's currently one of the slowest, most expensive cryptos? That would be because few people actually care about the tech, and more about the gains they could get. Don't get me wrong, cryptos can certainly challenge the status quo in terms of being a payment system, but with their value rising like they do, there's little reason to use it for anything else but an investment.

Bitcoin is currently the main player and while it's not fully anonymous, it provides adequate privacy. Not everyone requires full anonymity after all. However, should future regulations compromise Bitcoin's privacy, it's not hard to imagine that cryptos like Monero will be at the forefront, and Bitcoin will need to be updated.

[logicgate]

Maybe the amount of pseudo-anonymity is already enough for most people? In general, people care more about convenience than privacy. Hell, there's little people don't give up for convenience.

Of the options that I'm aware of, all have downsides on other fronts (BTC being the baseline):

XMR -- High fees, low scalability
ZEC -- Single point of failure in the form of a central corporate entity
GBYTE Blackbytes -- Centralized token issuance and trust-dependent consensus

Of course the respective tradeoffs may be seen as worthwhile, but the point is that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

I'd be curious to know what other privacy focused alts there are currently available though.

[...]

I believe this is going to change in 2-3 years and the anon coins will be more recognized and more used only when people will realize how their privacy has been taken over and what were the real reasons for creating Bitcoin

I'd argue that the main value proposition of Bitcoin is being permissionless, with pseudo-anonymity being only a side-effect. Also I'd love to believe that people will become more privacy conscious in the next 2-3 years, but I've honestly given hopes up on that. Privacy has long been dead and people embraced its death with open arms.

That is certainly a good argument, pseudo-anonymity is certainly enough for more people. However businesses certainly would need something more anonymous, I think the biggest thing for people to understand is that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous and not fully anonymous.

The use of virtual currency for businessmen and rich man is due to its unique qualities and different in nature. The anonymity is the biggest property of Bitcoin the users are in a safe mode. They do job on Bitcoin and no one knows who you are and what transactions are you have done. The business is secreting between you and Bitcoin, no other person or party can involve in this. The creation of Bitcoin is also against the real currency due to privacy level which is the main demand of mostly businessmen.

[socks435]

Maybe the amount of pseudo-anonymity is already enough for most people? In general, people care more about convenience than privacy. Hell, there's little people don't give up for convenience.

Of the options that I'm aware of, all have downsides on other fronts (BTC being the baseline):

XMR -- High fees, low scalability
ZEC -- Single point of failure in the form of a central corporate entity
GBYTE Blackbytes -- Centralized token issuance and trust-dependent consensus

Of course the respective tradeoffs may be seen as worthwhile, but the point is that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

I'd be curious to know what other privacy focused alts there are currently available though.

[...]

I believe this is going to change in 2-3 years and the anon coins will be more recognized and more used only when people will realize how their privacy has been taken over and what were the real reasons for creating Bitcoin

I'd argue that the main value proposition of Bitcoin is being permissionless, with pseudo-anonymity being only a side-effect. Also I'd love to believe that people will become more privacy conscious in the next 2-3 years, but I've honestly given hopes up on that. Privacy has long been dead and people embraced its death with open arms.

That is certainly a good argument, pseudo-anonymity is certainly enough for more people. However businesses certainly would need something more anonymous, I think the biggest thing for people to understand is that bitcoin is pseudo anonymous and not fully anonymous.

The use of virtual currency for businessmen and rich man is due to its unique qualities and different in nature. The anonymity is the biggest property of Bitcoin the users are in a safe mode. They do job on Bitcoin and no one knows who you are and what transactions are you have done. The business is secreting between you and Bitcoin, no other person or party can involve in this. The creation of Bitcoin is also against the real currency due to privacy level which is the main demand of mostly businessmen.

I think bitcoin is not totally anonymous that is why there are some services like chipmixer or any bitcoin mixer use just to make their bitcoin anonymous  and to make their bitcoin clean.. 
I can't say that bitcoin is 100% on anonymity because i read an article before that there are adopters tracking bitcoin where from but they can only know where bitcoin from but not the user.  so  all our transaction still can be track..

[kimochidesh]

I personally like Bitcoin coz it is anonymous and provides you financial privacy and liberty. Decentralised wallet does not require any of your personal info. The best part is Bitcoin is anonymous yet transparent with all its transaction. Youcan find all past, current and pending Txn on bitcoin blockchain, you can check it on blockchain.info

[Cryptoshops]

The problem why a lot of people dont or wont use Cryptocoins is because its not very easy to use like real money.  People in my family some who are only in their early 20s who are computer literate do not understand how to use cryptocurrencys even though I have tried to explain it to them,  its just way to much hassle and tech which they cant get a grip on. The other reason is trustworthyness Its not backed by any finacial instatution so if you loose any coins there is nothing or no one you can really turn to.
If you look at the online wallets which are most prob some of the easiest to use they are not anonymous because you have to upload ID for most of them now so the idea of crypto being anonymous and proctecting peoples privacy is being eroded away.

[TimtheYoutuber]

I think bitcoin is not totally anonymous that is why there are some services like chipmixer or any bitcoin mixer use just to make their bitcoin anonymous  and to make their bitcoin clean.. 
I can't say that bitcoin is 100% on anonymity because i read an article before that there are adopters tracking bitcoin where from but they can only know where bitcoin from but not the user.  so  all our transaction still can be track..

Yeah I agree, it is not fully and programs are being built to follow transactions. However it does give a good amount for the average person who doesnt really care about the anonymity.

[askabir6]

I'd argue that the main value proposition of Bitcoin is being permissionless, with pseudo-anonymity being only a side-effect. Also I'd love to believe that people will become more privacy conscious in the next 2-3 years, but I've honestly given hopes up on that

[altGear]

Use Monero, PIVX, SHIELD, SAFEX or something like that.

Crypto Community for Beginners: CryptoSmart HUB https://discord.gg/jyTXVWz

[Valentina N]

I don't trust in any anonymity! Never it will be anonymous! I am sorry lady and gentlemen s but it is my opinion! Every action are under total control! In some counties you cannot do nothing without cards, bankers, documents they effort you play open! I don't believe in anonymous fairy tales! Sorry 

[btcprospecter]

Bitcoin will be anonymous to a certain degree but there will always be a trail back at some point if you are not careful. For some they want that full anonymity for others it's just a plus point.

[TimtheYoutuber]

Bitcoin will be anonymous to a certain degree but there will always be a trail back at some point if you are not careful. For some they want that full anonymity for others it's just a plus point.

I agree. Some people do not care as much about it, and so the fact that it doesnt directly link to your identity is perfect for most people.

[Tonydman97]

Well, bitcoin can support anonymity but the main problem is that every transaction is publicly logged. Anyone can see the flow of Bitcoins from address to address. Alone, this information can't identify anyone because the addresses are just random numbers. However, if any of the addresses in a transaction's past or future can be tied to an actual identity, it might be possible to work from that point and guess who may own all of the other addresses. This identity information might come from network analysis, surveillance, or just Googling the address. The officially encouraged practice of using a new address for every transaction is designed to make this attack more difficult. If your balance has been contaminated by both anonymous and non-anonymous coins, you may take action to make it "clean".

[ramayor]

Cryptocurrencies were designed as a unit of exchange and as a place to store assets without relying on a central bank. Its users are anonymous and no any personal details are shared when you have transactions which is one of the cool part in bitcoin and other cryptos. But others take advantage on it and used it in criminality which is the bad part of this world.

[TimtheYoutuber]

As more people are getting into the space I think it is helpful to really understand bitcoin from a basic form. Let me know what you guys think.

[Empiretoken]

That’s bad news for people hoping to keep their Bitcoin purchases anonymous. But even when the exact transaction is kept hidden, it is still possible to make the link when the leak includes the amount and time of the purchase.

[TimtheYoutuber]

That’s bad news for people hoping to keep their Bitcoin purchases anonymous. But even when the exact transaction is kept hidden, it is still possible to make the link when the leak includes the amount and time of the purchase.

This is true which is why mixers are in place to try and jam this. I think for most this limited anonymous transaction is fine.

[BountyX]

It is an already well established fact that Bitcoin is not very anonymous, as soon as someone makes a serious investigation. The news has recently emerged that the US is tracking all transactions and possibly (my suggestion) building already a database of who is who among the holder.

[Rath_]

Many people actually think that Bitcoin is completely anonymous which is obviously false. Bitcoin is pseudo anonymous, everyone can view transaction details. Staying anonymous is really important because someone could use information about your wealth against you. I'm not surprised that quite a lot people decided to switch to Monero or Zcash. They both support fully-anonymous transactions. We should focus on making transaction fees lower. Then we can work on this issue.