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Wells Fargo gave me a fake $100, during my anonymous bitcoin experiment (I tried to buy btc truly anonymously to see how feasible this is). I didn't realize at

Wells Fargo gave me a fake $100, during my anonymous bitcoin experiment (I tried to buy btc truly anonymously to see how feasible this is). I didn't realize at the time, and processed to spend the bills to get change (a bank can easily record the serials on all cash withdrawals, thus linking my btc purchase). During this whole time, I used several sets of disposable gloves. When I tried the fake $100, which I didn't know was fake, it looked highly suspicious - buying a $2 tea with gloves and a $100 bill. Fortunately the shopkeep was cool about it. Wells Fargo wasn't. They refused to investigate or refund, and suggested I was lying about the bill and had inserted it. I'd guess the downside to using just fingertip covers is that while you hide prints, you increase the possibility of leaving DNA via skin cells. Probably not an issue when spending cash, but more of an issue when preparing a package. (Though you need more than just simple gloves; I used a jacket and made sure my forearm was covered, as well as not using any surfaces I previously used). (Result of my experiment: it's extremely difficult to get Bitcoins anonymously. Opsec is very tough, and LE must be thrilled about stuff moving online and into BTC since it's so easy to get wrong.)

unabridged 12y ago
>it's extremely difficult to get Bitcoins anonymously buy a miner, connect through tor.
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  I suppose that's possible, but last I looked into it, it was also expensive. If I need $5000 in BTC, how much do I have to spend and how long do I have to wait? Additionally, how many bits of identity do you lose by buying a capable miner? I'm not sure mining qualifies as "easy", though perhaps not extremely difficult.
  - unabridged 12y ago
    For $5000 you can definitely afford a miner. I'm a couple years out of the loop on mining technology and the current & future global hashrate, but with research you could probably get a pretty good estimate on the break even point. An uneducated guess is about a year. Take a look at Dash (formerly known as darkcoin). It has anonymous mixing built into the protocol. So buying BTC -> dash -> BTC should be able to create anonymous coins. The bits of identity you lose (with this method or buying a miner) only identify you as possible BTC holder, but the actual coins are still untraceable/anonymous.

unabridged 12y ago

>it's extremely difficult to get Bitcoins anonymously buy a miner, connect through tor.

MichaelGG 12y ago
I suppose that's possible, but last I looked into it, it was also expensive. If I need $5000 in BTC, how much do I have to spend and how long do I have to wait? Additionally, how many bits of identity do you lose by buying a capable miner? I'm not sure mining qualifies as "easy", though perhaps not extremely difficult.
- unabridged 12y ago
  For $5000 you can definitely afford a miner. I'm a couple years out of the loop on mining technology and the current & future global hashrate, but with research you could probably get a pretty good estimate on the break even point. An uneducated guess is about a year. Take a look at Dash (formerly known as darkcoin). It has anonymous mixing built into the protocol. So buying BTC -> dash -> BTC should be able to create anonymous coins. The bits of identity you lose (with this method or buying a miner) only identify you as possible BTC holder, but the actual coins are still untraceable/anonymous.