4 ms·
> It's only "anonymous until use". If you transfer some amount to me, I can then retroactively find its source, and likely find a good deal of information about
by redox99 4y ago
> It's only "anonymous until use". If you transfer some amount to me, I can then retroactively find its source, and likely find a good deal of information about you and the other wallets you've used.
How is that? Let's say I go to PornHub and purchase premium (which is only purchasable with crypto). Assume tor usage to not have to worry about any kind of side channel identity leak. How could PornHub know who I am? At most, if the person who sold me the crypto face to face messed up and the address he used to send me the coins becomes identified, PornHub could assume
A) This is another address of his
or
B) This is the address of someone he conducted business with
Either way you would need to personally inquire him to leak my identity, in case he even knows it.
And this is assuming a trivial case without the use of mixers and so on.
Ideally you would want your wallet software to automatically handle all this stuff, and automatically clean your coins for you, generate new addresses, etc without you even knowing.
- etchalon 4y agoAs with any thing OpSec, all it takes is one mistake to make your digital footprint clear. I do not have the time or expertise to explain all the ways in which blockchain forensics is able to trace identities and ownership, but behold, it's an entire industry now. And isn't that much different from other forms of forensic accounting, which has been tracing money through labyrinths of shell companies and offshore accounts for decades. If you believe, "Well, I used a new address! And a mixer! I'm safe!", that entire industry would like to have words with you.