You are pseudo anonymous
In each Bitcoin transaction a quantity of Bitcoin and Bitcoin addresses are the only information shown. The Bitcoin addresses that are shown are the input address from the sender and the output address of the receiver.
Do not forget that all Bitcoin transactions are:
- a public record
- kept in a public ledger
- permanent and transparent.
While, it is correct that a Bitcoin address does not show:
- your name
- your physical address
- your electronic mail address
- any other personal information.
Because your Bitcoin address is known, a blockchain forensic tool can be used to get more information. Thus, you are “pseudo-anonymous”.
What a blockchain forensic tool can find
There are open source and commercial blockchain forensic tools. With an open source blockchain forensic tool you can input a name, Bitcoin address, an electronic mail address, or a URL to:
- check a bitcoin wallet balance
- find connected websites or owner profiles
- show if a Bitcoin address has been reported as a scam
- set an alert to notify you by when a Bitcoin address is used
Two opensource products are:
The commercial blockchain forensic tools are used by banks, businesses, and governments. They are used to examine for financial crimes, such as money laundering. They are also used for regulatory supervision. The two primary commercial products are:
How can I become anonymous?
There are a small number of methods that can be used to become anonymous on the Bitcoin network. These will be given in a future post, but three primary methods are:
- encrypt and re-route your IP addresses with a TOR browser and a VPN.
- use a different Bitcoin address with each transaction.
- use a use data mixer.
