Bitcoin not so anonymous, Irish researcher says | Linux Today

Bitcoin not so anonymous, Irish researcher says

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Jul 29, 2011

“Well, to be fair, originally the system was never described as
anonymous, but the developers would say that it’s rather
pseudo-anonymous. So you use some identifier and that’s all that
can be traced back to you. There are two things: The first is that
the media often say that Bitcoin is anonymous, and I would say that
anyone that works in the development of Bitcoin would agree that
these reports are wrong.

“The second thing is that Bitcoin has this unusual property that
if I receive Bitcoins from two sources, A and B, I can generate one
identity to receive the Bitcoins from A and I can generate a second
identity to receive the Bitcoins from B and there’s no way to link
these two identities. However, maybe in a couple months time, I can
perform another Bitcoin transaction and where I send these Bitcoins
to C. This third transaction can link A and B. So by joining the
Bitcoins together in my wallet, A and B, and sending them to C,
I’ve revealed that previously the two identities that I used to
receive the money from A and B are controlled by the same
person.”

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Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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