Bitcoin had faced it rough when arriving in the financial space. With its various qualities, most investors called it many negative names: bubble, scam, and a crime thing, as they argued that BTC does not have a base value.
However, Bitcoin had one quality that stood out in the eyes of investors. And that is none other than the anonymity that the digital coin boasted. The concept of completing transactions without revealing identity attracted many financial players in the crypto game. With time, market experts understood the BTC’s underlying technology, highlighting that the network harbored criminal activities.
The current market conditions have made many financial fans questions BTC’s anonymity. Keep in mind that the US Justice Department detained more than one billion dollars in BTC in various investigations in 2020.
Also, the Department discovered $2.3 million that Colonial Pipeline paid as a ransom to a dark hacker group DarskSide. Colonial Pipeline completed the transaction in BTC, the currency that investors think is untraceable. Such scenarios left most financial enthusiasts thinking about Bitcoin anonymity.
However, users use privacy and anonymity interchangeable as far as BTC is concerned. Do not make that mistake. BTC is highly anonymous, a feature that is not close to private. Most market players tend to overlook this vital distinction. BTC’s blockchain technology has a historical ledger with all transactions. Anyone could view them anytime without restrictions.
Bitcoin blockchain records each BTC transaction publicly. Keep in mind that the records remain public and permanent. Federal investigators have used analytical tools and BTC transactions to trace criminals over the years. BTC’s anonymity helps to complicate BTC recovery as the system uses unique wallet addresses and codes instead of the usual Social security numbers or names.
Bitcoin components like addresses, public and private keys, and transactions read in text codes that do not reveal the user’s identity.
Most individuals that venture into the Bitcoin market enjoy its anonymity.
Bitcoin maintains anonymity in its entire transactions. You can hardly track users since you will have to link their real-world identities and crypto addresses, which is almost impossible. However, Bitcoin does not offer privacy.