is Bitcoin really anonymous?

[Luzin]

Some people don't like centralized exchanges; they choose to use exchanges without KYC to convert their assets, or even use mixers to avoid unwanted attention.

When it comes to mandatory KYC exchanges, anonymity is lost. But even if you eventually transact with an Exchange without KYC and use a mixer, if you are going to convert it to FIAT, the anonymity will definitely be lost. This is my reason why Bitcoin can never be fully anonymous. If you hope for anonymity, then do not register on KYC exchanges and do not convert your crypto into fiat through bank transactions.

[Daniel91]

Yes, all btc transactions can be seen and the flow of ''btc funds'' can be followed from start to finish, that's true, but one thing needs to be clarified. The identity of the end user can only be found out by tax and other authorities if the user sold btc funds for fiat and provided their personal information, ID, to the crypto exchange.
If btc was sold to a private person, or at an ATM, for example, or in some other way without sharing personal information, then it can't be said that the anonymity of the end user is at risk.
Experienced crypto users already know this, of course, but some users probably want their transaction data to be known to their country's tax authorities for tax exemptions, for example.

As far as Bitcoin transaction is concerned, anything that has happened on chain can't be identify to anybody until it's link to one identity and one of the common way is through the centralized exchanges. This is why some people are discourage to do kcy or use centralized exchanges, before you can use any of their services you have to be verified, this is against some People's believe as far as privacy is concerned.

Left to the user, if you don't mind doing Kyc you can do transaction with Bitcoin and get it link to you since you will have to file for tax and some other things but as for other people that doesn't consent to Kyc, you can use Bitcoin without revealing your identity, which ever you chose the network is available for everyone.

Yes, I agree with you.
It all comes down to the reasons and motivations for why we are in crypto. For some crypto users, anonymity and privacy are very important and they will find crypto exchanges without kyc, while other users, for whom it is important to be able to prove the origin of their funds to the tax authorities of their country, will do kyc and then submit a tax return.
In my country, we have a very good tax law that allows us not to pay tax on crypto earnings if we have held crypto assets for at least 2 years and traded with these assets.
When you have such a legal situation, of course, there is no reason to hide your identity and later fear that if you spend a lot, the tax authorities will start investigating the origin of your assets.
It is much easier to simply do kyc and submit a tax return, and thus avoid paying taxes and get the opportunity to spend crypto assets freely and without fear.

[Su-asa]

One thing you need to know is that even if your identity like your name and all that might be privatised by you it doesn't mean that your activities cannot be traced, that's because  your transactions done on the particular block chain you make use of is recorded, so this answers your questions that bitcoin isn't anonymous. These transactions that are being recorded in the block chain are permanently saved that is why it can always be traced back to you, this is the reason why some scammers have stopped requesting for bitcoin from those that they try to defraud because they know that everything can be traced simply from the transaction history. If your aim is to maintain anonymity then you should  focus on making use of other cryptocurrencies that supports users privacy because even though you use mixers to maintain privacy with bitcoin there's no assurance that it's a hundred percent safe.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

One thing you need to know is that even if your identity like your name and all that might be privatised by you it doesn't mean that your activities cannot be traced, that's because  your transactions done on the particular block chain you make use of is recorded, so this answers your questions that bitcoin isn't anonymous.

Bitcoin is a public blockchain and all on-chain transactions are recorded in Bitcoin blocks, stored in many Bitcoin nodes that are decentralized globally on many computers, and the most important point is what are recorded on Bitcoin blockchain can not be erased.

So having anonymity or not, it relates to what people do at beginning and later, as if they lost their anonymity at beginning, they can not erase their transactions on the blockchain. It's impossible after one confirmation and more impossible with more confirmations on Bitcoin blockchain.

In the blockchain, the most recent few blocks might be revised if there is a chain reorganization due to a fork. The top six blocks are like a few inches of topsoil. But once you go more deeply into the blockchain, beyond six blocks, blocks are less and less likely to change. After 100 blocks back there is so much stability that the coinbase transaction—​the transaction containing the reward in bitcoin for creating a new block—​can be spent. While the protocol always allows a chain to be undone by a longer chain and while the possibility of any block being reversed always exists, the probability of such an event decreases as time passes until it becomes infinitesimal.

For better privacy
https://bitcoin.org/en/protect-your-privacy
https://bitcoiner.guide/privacy/

[kazilunex]

Bitcoin isn't anonymous, it's more like name-less. The blockchain shows every transaction and every address, but it doesn't show your real name by default. The privacy breaks when an address gets linked to you, for example when you buy on an exchange that has you ID, reuse the same address a lot, post your address publicly, or someone connects your payments together through patterns,

So it's traceable in practice, because once one piece is linked, a lot of the history can be followed. You can still improve privacy with simple habits like using a new address each time and not sharing your wallet address online, but it's not the same as full anonymity.