Bitcoin

Bitcoin

BTC is public, fully transparent, and pseudonymous. The receiver, sender, and everyone else with access to the public key can see everything about a particular transaction, including the transaction history and balance of funds. Unlike traditional assets, users don't need to provide personal credentials.

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Is Bitcoin fully anonymous?

Many people, especially those new to the crypto world, believe that Bitcoin provides complete anonymity. Well, it is not late to learn that Bitcoin has only a certain amount of anonymity, and hence, it is pseudo-anonymous. 

Online transactions do not contain personal data. Hence, the thesis is that you can completely protect your data. However, it is only a half-baked truth since those data can reveal people's identities. An individual can sell his Bitcoins without giving his first name and surname in the details of the operation, for instance, in the case of using Bitcoin ATM. 

Bitcoin was created to provide complete confidence in the currency that the entire world can use. Because the Bitcoin network is distributed and open to each user, it is possible to recreate the flow of funds and check where these funds come from.

So, a better word for Bitcoin is that Bitcoin is pseudonymous. It's worth noting that some governments are already trying to determine which citizens own Bitcoin.

How does Bitcoin anonymity work?

The best way to understand Bitcoin's pseudonymity is to learn how cryptocurrencies work.

Every Bitcoin transaction shows the entry and exit of funds. The inputs are the wallets or addresses from which Bitcoin is sent to us, while the exits are addresses that digital currency funds leave the receiving address. Most people trade cryptocurrencies by linking several smaller trades together. In this way, they accumulate digital funds on one of their wallets. Each person can have several wallets to store smaller parts of Bitcoin. To transfer more digital funds, it must combine funds from several wallets and accumulate them in one specific wallet. Therefore, it is enough for one of the sources of origin of this smaller part to be verified by the KYC system.

The larger transaction, i.e., all funds linked by that person, can be assigned to that one specific person who has undergone the KYC procedure. Of course, this is not a 100% effective solution because it is enough for Bitcoin to change the owner several times, or several people who have undergone KYC will "contribute" to the purchase of some material goods. However you look at it, it's worth knowing what anonymity really looks like in the Bitcoin world.

How to achieve full anonymity?

Although Bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous, you can buy and sell Bitcoin anonymously by using more than one wallet to complete each transaction and taking some steps as shown below; 

  • Trade below the KYC/AML limits
  • Use websites offering transaction mixers, e.g., a mixer with a very good reputation - mixertumbler.com.
  • Use dark pools
  • Buy and sell Bitcoins anonymously using Tor browsers. 
  • Use VPNs 
  • Use anonymous Bitcoin wallets 
  • Buy and sell Bitcoin using secure Bitcoin ATMs like Shitcoin Bitcoin ATMs.
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