Is bitcoin anonymous?

Are payments and transfers of Bitcoin anonymous?

Hi there,

Whether Bitcoin can be used anonymously depends on how you obtain the Bitcoin and on your online habits.

You can obtain Bitcoin anonymously by purchasing it directly from a private seller for cash or by mining Bitcoin yourself using your own hardware or an anonymous mining pool. In both cases you will need to use an anonymous Bitcoin wallet which cannot be tracked to a device or bank account held in your name.

If you purchase Bitcoin from a broker which requires verified personal information and bank account information, your Bitcoin will not be anonymous. If you purchase Bitcoin from an ATM which requires you to enter your registered phone number or personal information, your Bitcoin will not be anonymous.

If you spend Bitcoin from a device which allows location tracking, your purchases will not be anonymous. If your Bitcoin address is in any way linked to your name or to a device which you own, then tracing transactions back to you is possible.

Using a device which does not contain any personal information which can be traced back to you and using a secure web browser like Tor and a secure email service like Protonmail.ch can help prevent data harvesters from gathering information about the purchases you make using Bitcoin.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Alternative currencies in Switzerland explained
Interactive broker comparison
Online Shopping: Protecting Yourself From Rip-Offs

Does anyone here know much about Zcoin?

Zerocoin is supposed to be more anonymous than bitcoin.

Like other cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, its value has gone down since the crypto hype

I would recommend this article on Zcoin on the topics of security and anonymity: https://cryptobit.media/de/articles/overview/245/

It provides a pretty good explanation of Zcoin.

Bitcoin can be anonymous, depending on how you use it. If you use it like cash with Opendime and co. then transactions (barring the initial bitcoin purchase) are completely anonymous.

Buying and using Bitcoin anonymously online with transactions recorded on the blockchain requires serious know-how, especially since the introduction of blockchain tracking tools like Crystal. It is possible, but difficult.