The Myth of Cryptocurrency Anonymity and Who does it benefit?
In a recent media broadcast the commentator spoke of how Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are being used more and more for illicit activity because of their anonymity. This line has been heard over and over again in different media outlets for years, despite the fact that criminals are regularly busted using the blockchain’s public ledger.
Most that familiar with the space know that most cryptocurrency transactions are pseudonymous, meaning not using real names but public addresses, far from anonymous. Identities are often discovered by following the trail of addresses until they find an address/account that is linked to a real world identity. Yet the myth not only persists but grows, which makes one question if this false belief is perpetuated by design by law enforcement.
I have an acquaintance, let’s call him Bob Marley, and he may or may not deal illicit substances. I recently showed Bob the block explorer and we looked at some recent transaction and how not only was the date and time recorded but from whom to whom. Then, we drilled down from one address to another looking not only at the balances but all the transaction histories. Bob was shocked, “They don’t even need a warrant! Right here they got the whole family tree.”
Shum…..
Next, I showed him Monero, Zcoin, and some other privacy coins, and taught him the expression SHUM, an acronym for the Should Have Used Monero, an expression sometimes seen on the web when news comes out about someone getting busted using crypto in an illegal activity.
Not condoning anyone’s illegal activity nor condemning it here. Nor, I am spreading a conspiracy theory, it‘s’ well known that Gavin Anderson, one of the original Bitcoin Core Dev members, met with the CIA in 2011.
The question is why is the myth of anonymity continually being spread by media? Is it just mis-informed sensationalist journalism? Or are these media outlets complicit in an information theory game of Authoritarianism?
Either way, as my friend Bob Marley said “Shum’s the word”
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