Removed.

[Billbags]

It's so convenient to send/receive, yes I would....

[Lethn]

Bitcoin technically doesn't have anonymity to begin with, it's only through VPNs and other such services that you can be truly anonymous, people who make the claim that Bitcoin is anonymous don't know how it works, now when Dark Wallet releases that will be another story though.

[311]

Bitcoin technically doesn't have anonymity to begin with, it's only through VPNs and other such services that you can be truly anonymous, people who make the claim that Bitcoin is anonymous don't know how it works, now when Dark Wallet releases that will be another story though.

Not necessarily but it doesn't have to offer 100% anonymity by itself, it just gives you the ability to do so if you wish. Plus you still need to offer zero personal details to use it unlike a bank or paypal account so it is anonymous in that respect. .

[Lethn]

Bitcoin technically doesn't have anonymity to begin with, it's only through VPNs and other such services that you can be truly anonymous, people who make the claim that Bitcoin is anonymous don't know how it works, now when Dark Wallet releases that will be another story though.

Not necessarily but it doesn't have to offer 100% anonymity by itself, it just gives you the ability to do so if you wish. Plus you still need to offer zero personal details to use it unlike a bank or paypal account so it is anonymous in that respect. .

That's true, point is though there's always a link to your identity somewhere because of things like I.P addresses and that's pretty difficult to get rid of completely.

[Troonetpt]

As the silkroad down, it clear that bitcoin is not really anonymous.

[BitUsher]

There are many reasons to love bitcoin and its Pseudo-anonymous nature is one of the foundational principles to appreciate it. I love how the choice is given to empower the end user with either complete transparency , privacy or both(within different aspects of their lives).

[gjgjg]

If the government required all wallets to be publicly registered to a driver license or government ID, would you be OK with that?  Why?  Why not?

I for one would, I think the 'criminals' can just Foff and use another coin and leave the BTC enthusiasts to help spread it further into the mainstream. The criminal association is a big mental block for adoption, at least the media love to harp on about it.

The government and all the other bad guys already have my name, address, Soc Sec number, GPS whereabouts, Bank info, Amazon transactions, Passport and travel info, facebook info (not much there lol) etc etc. But so what, Im not trying to hide anything anyway. Its not like I can avoid it if I want to live in any kind of society.

Also, they probably already have our BTC addresses, we just dont know it yet - they want to keep it quiet so the criminals keep using BTC thinking theyre under the radar...
if I were the CIA or FBI or whatever I would be praying everyone keeps using BTC so I dont have to go to the bank to get criminals records days later. I just quietly squeeze the exchanges for the ID of the wallet holders and follow the money in real time.

[BitUsher]

Also, they probably already have our BTC addresses, we just dont know it yet - they want to keep it quiet so the criminals keep using BTC thinking theyre under the radar...
if I were the CIA or FBI or whatever I would be praying everyone keeps using BTC so I dont have to go to the bank to get criminals records days later. I just quietly squeeze the exchanges for the ID of the wallet holders and follow the money in real time.

It is mathematically impossible for them to have all out BTC addresses in a database associated with our identities or IP addresses.

Watch this video to get an understanding of the amazing math of Bitcoin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZloHVKk7DHk

[chanz]

Honestly speaking - I wouldn't have and bitcoin won't be here that far if it was. The alt's market like it is now
and their new features must have beat it by years.

[BitUsher]

As the silkroad down, it clear that bitcoin is not really anonymous.

When it comes to either physical security or IT security nothing is 100% secure or anonymous. There are varying degrees of anonymity with everything and Bitcoin is simply a protocol or tool that allows one to have strong layers of privacy if one chooses to use it.

Additionally, Ross Ulbrict was likely caught by social means (him accidentally posting his real email and identity on a forum looking to hire developers):

"In the section of the indictment outlining how the link between Ulbricht and Dread Pirate Roberts was established, Tarbell detailed how an FBI expert codenamed Agent-1 had located an early online mention of Silk Road dating to January 27, 2011, when a user under the handle "Altoid" made a post on a forum for users of magic mushrooms.

"I came across this website called Silk Road," wrote Altoid, in a post which linked to the site. "I'm thinking of buying off it... Let me know what you think."

Two days later, someone using the handle "Altoid" made a similar post on a forum called Bitcoin Talk, recommending Silk Road and providing a link. "Has anyone seen Silk Road yet? It's kind of like an anonymous Amazon.com. I don't think they have heroin on there, but they are selling other stuff," it read.

The posts, said Tarbell, were an attempt to drum up interest in Silk Road, employing the online marketing tactic of "astroturfing."

Investigators were given a major break when, eight months later, "Altoid" made another posting on Bitcoin Talk, stating he was looking for "an IT pro in the Bitcoin community" to hire in connection with "a venture backed Bitcoin startup company." The posting asked interested parties to contact rossulbricht@gmail.com."

[ChuckBuck]

I'd honestly use Bitcoin whether it had anonymity or not.  No shame in my game.

I don't plan to use Silk Road or Open Bazaar to buy illicit drugs or services, and don't plan to hire any hitmen to put a hit on anyone anytime in my lifetime.

Not everyone will agree with me, as they'll have their own motives and intentions for using and transacting, but myself I just plan to use it like regular money.

[Ludi]

Bitcoin technically doesn't have anonymity to begin with, it's only through VPNs and other such services that you can be truly anonymous, people who make the claim that Bitcoin is anonymous don't know how it works, now when Dark Wallet releases that will be another story though.

Not necessarily but it doesn't have to offer 100% anonymity by itself, it just gives you the ability to do so if you wish. Plus you still need to offer zero personal details to use it unlike a bank or paypal account so it is anonymous in that respect. .

That's true, point is though there's always a link to your identity somewhere because of things like I.P addresses and that's pretty difficult to get rid of completely.

You could use public wifi or a very secure vpn, but bitcoin is only as anonymous as you make it. If you're carefull you can be 100% anon, but if you use a blockchain.info account from your home IP and use it to make purchases directly to your house it's a different matter.

[HeroCat]

I would use BTC in any case - anonymous or not  For privacy concerns would be better if BTC is anonymous

[countryfree]

...Governments belong to the past, especially to me, since I changed country last week.

So which government-free country have you moved to? Just curious.

Yeah I would like to know where he has moved to with no functioning government.

I'm currently in Spain, a place which may, or may not have a government. Actually, I don't care. Since I don't need the government nor any of its various agencies to live and work, the government may collapse I wouldn't notice.

[Ralphs]

I personally never associated Bitcoin's benefits with anonymity, but rather the technology as a better payment option in terms of its process and use cases.

[gjgjg]

Also, they probably already have our BTC addresses, we just dont know it yet - they want to keep it quiet so the criminals keep using BTC thinking theyre under the radar...
if I were the CIA or FBI or whatever I would be praying everyone keeps using BTC so I dont have to go to the bank to get criminals records days later. I just quietly squeeze the exchanges for the ID of the wallet holders and follow the money in real time.

It is mathematically impossible for them to have all out BTC addresses in a database associated with our identities or IP addresses.

Watch this video to get an understanding of the amazing math of Bitcoin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZloHVKk7DHk

sorry, i meant 'probably already have access to our wallet info - if they wanted to pull it from exchanges'.
basically i wouldnt be surprised if all the big exchanges have been forced to hand over ids of people that are on interpol list or something along those lines. neither side would want that to be common knowledge, ofc. this way they know if persons of interest are buying/selling.

[techgeeks]

Yes... Absolutely, I am tire of the fees it costs to move money internationally. Owning a multi-national company - the fees' make no sense.

[bounst]

it esay to do so, not because the Anonymity

[cyberpinoy]

Sure, bitcoin transactions are transparent, but it's still pretty difficult to figure the identity of an address/wallet owner.  

If the government required all wallets to be publicly registered to a driver license or government ID, would you be OK with that?  Why?  Why not?

I'm trying to understand what percentage of people use bitcoin because it's relatively anonymous.  

If not, is it because you primarily use bitcoins for drugs/porn or other illicit activity?  Or you use it to try to cloak your donations/transactions?

Look forward to your opinions.  

Thanks.

No Its none of the governements business what i do with my bitcoins. Until they accept it as a transaction process allow it and help promote it like they did cash for the banks screw them.

[tss]

I would use Monero instead

l'll use Splarknaf, the first debt based cryptocurrency. We just don't give a shit who you are as long as you make your minimum monthly payments.

can you please issue me 1 Splarknaf.  i will start making monthly 0.1% payments right away to get my 10 Splarknaf.  i wish to one day get 100,000 Splarknaf, so i can have more payments than my neighbor, he already has 800 Splarknaf due monthly.  I feel so jealous!