Bitcoin Address Monitoring Services - any risk?

[BittBurger]

Based on how Bitcoin works, and your knowledge of the overall Bitcoin ecosystem, blockchain, addresses, wallets, hackers, etc ...

Is there any risk of entering your public addresses into a monitoring system, to make sure your balances are always there, and no coins are moving?

Simply put - its drawing attention to the existence of the address, whereas it may have never been seen on the network previously.

Then again, when you load BTC onto an address, it has been "seen" on the network.

But that doesn't mean the dude who made your iPhone app knew about it.  Until you load it onto his app.

Now you've got an address with some serious money in it, and some dude knows its there.

Any risk?  

[lihuajkl]

The balance of any public key is public in the blockchain. No one can do anything with the BTC in any specific address without private key. The first thing you need to do is to secure your wallet then Nothing to worry about!

[TheButterZone]

You could be monitoring an address that one of the major BTC "hackers" emptied a hot wallet into. Doesn't mean you control the private key, only proves you're interested in it.

[BittBurger]

Not worried about securing the key, but instead drawing attention to the wallet.

Moreso the "risk" associated with saying "Hey!  This wallet has X bitcoin in it!"

Versus not using the service, and no other human really ever noticing it exists....

Make any sense?

[Dogtanian]

Based on how Bitcoin works, and your knowledge of the overall Bitcoin ecosystem, blockchain, addresses, wallets, hackers, etc ...

Is there any risk of entering your public addresses into a monitoring system, to make sure your balances are always there, and no coins are moving?

I don't see how entering your public address would be a problem, but what is the purpose of this? IF your coins do in fact move there's nothing you can do about it so it seems pointless to me.

[Relnarien]

Based on how Bitcoin works, and your knowledge of the overall Bitcoin ecosystem, blockchain, addresses, wallets, hackers, etc ...

Is there any risk of entering your public addresses into a monitoring system, to make sure your balances are always there, and no coins are moving?

Simply put - its drawing attention to the existence of the address, whereas it may have never been seen on the network previously.

Then again, when you load BTC onto an address, it has been "seen" on the network.

But that doesn't mean the dude who made your iPhone app knew about it.  Until you load it onto his app.

Now you've got an address with some serious money in it, and some dude knows its there.

Any risk?  

The mere fact that an address has any funds in it at all means that a transaction involving that address has already transpired, and therefore is publicly viewable by anyone with a copy of the blockchain. Unless it's empty, then the network already knows that a particular address has funds in it. Monitoring your address is no different than telling it to another person in order to receive payment.

It's relatively easy to query the blockchain for any address containing over 1 Bitcoin. Anyone who wanted to find "an address with some serious money in it" would simply write code to do that instead of coding an address monitor and waiting for a random user with a large Bitcoin stash to use it.

[Josepht]

Of course giving someone your bitcoin address isn't a risk. If he could do anything with a bitcoin address, he wouldn't attack you but one of these instead: http://bitcoinrichlist.com/top100

[Winston Churchill]

It is not so much the risk of hacking, though that increases somewhat, as the risk that the information will flow to those currently in power.

[zetaray]

Anyone can monitor any address on the blockchain. There is no risks involved when you subscribe to the service with only your public address and not your private keys.

[Daniel91]

If you protect your account (connected with Bitcoin  address) well, there is no risk.
It's similar with your on line banking info or emails.
Choose good password, add secondary password, other available security measures like sending entry code for your blockchain acc. to email, have backup, security question/answer and you will be fine, don't worry.

[micaman]

I find it very useful, especially for those who want/need to keep track of multiple addresses.
The info you need to provide is public, so you will never get any problems by using it.

Anyone can monitor any address on the blockchain. There is no risks involved when you subscribe to the service with only your public address and not your private keys.

[guybrushthreepwood]

You can watch addresses with the blockchain.info app and they don't even need to be yours. there's no danger with giving any service your public address as by definition it's already public and they can't do anything with it.