are payments via crypto really "anonymous"?

[zotix]

False, metamask and most wallets are public as well. There are projects like https://www.arkhamintelligence.com/ that focus on tracing EVERYTHING.


Nope


Nope

True.
I mean there are still ways to overcome this , otherwise some shady Markets would not be online. - but its much more complicated than people think.
Nobody cares abotut transactions of like 5k, 10k, 15k.

The amounts which are under radar are 6 digit.
even if you have ways, to get them on your wallet. At some point you need to show your face in public to cashout.
Since many crypto currencys started to regulate the special cryptos for that, more will come . - i dont hope (because of for .e.g. whistleblowsers etc.) who get donations, but they will start to regulate the markets - FIAT needs to be protected.
There are solutions on the way, one of them @alurosu mentioned, others come from FED and European central bank.

zotix

 

[Theben77]

No they are not.

How will you know? When you carry out an illegal and very huge transaction.

 

[szoenik]

This means you didn't know how crypto work

Why you think I'm asking question like that?

As long as you don’t interact with CEX. It’s truly anonymous.

It's the opposite of everybody else is saying (last line) Didn't know ByBit has an account here btw lol


------------ To all other comments:
Quite mixed info here. In general the XMR seems to be the way to go from what I see, not using CEX...but I think that's still may not be it yet

 

[dzuran]

sum up

1.Choose Privacy-Focused Coins: Consider using cryptocurrencies designed for anonymity, such as Monero (XMR) or Zcash (ZEC)
2.Avoid Centralized Exchanges: Use decentralized exchanges (DEXs) or peer-to-peer platforms that don’t require KYC (Know Your Customer) verification.
3.Create New Addresses: Always generate new wallet addresses for each transaction to avoid tracking.
4.Employ Mixing Services: Consider using coin mixers or tumblers to obscure transaction history. This helps in breaking the link between your identity and your coins.

 

[SMM2Go]

Depends on how you wanna do it, it can be 100% anonymous if you want.

 

[bartosimpsonio]

They're probably less anonymous than cash

 

[Peter Ngo]

Unless you are not going to convert your crypto into fiat, your crypto transaction is not 100% anonymous.

If you are doing something very illegal and the FBI are determined to get you, they only need to know where you withdraw your money into fiat.

You obviously can mitigate this with using a mixer to hide the source, but it only takes a few mistakes to be exposed.

 

[ufocat]

don't use exchange

 

[szoenik]

Depends on how you wanna do it, it can be 100% anonymous if you want.

How? how exactly?

Unless you are not going to convert your crypto into fiat, your crypto transaction is not 100% anonymous.

How are people converting crypto to money if not via fiat?
P.S you know any good mixers that you could recommend?

-----------------------My other thoughts unrelated to any answer above:--------------------------​

This matter is still not resolved tbh. Because, if we sum up the answers (which I do appreciate):
using DEX + XMR/ZEC - but DEX will not let me convert to fiat.

Also - DEX (from what I've read) works only on certain blockchains, like UniSwap works on Etherum, PancakeSwap on BEP20, so these platforms are not versatile in terms of accepting variety of crypto payments like let's say the classic USDT on TRC20 network.

Also 2.0 - When I've interacted with some blackhat services sellers- they have the same crypto address every time. They don't seem to change it all, regarding changing address for each transaction (which I have not found a platform that allows doing that over and over hundreds of time)

 

[Deleted member 1920510]

Do you Agree to this So, the real question is: When should we stop before FBI finds out!!

 

[byzero]

I think exchanges kyc for accounts removes the principle of privacy.

 

[StripeFinance]

when you think about it, you have a lot of your personal info linked to all your wallets. Many apps require your ID too

so how in hell are crypto payments considered "anonymous" or "under the table"? You can be identified as easy as if you were paying via your bank account

read: privacy coins, opsec and more

its just not enough to buy bitcoin from a kyc exchange lol

you need to go the extra mile to be private and anon

 

[ESCROWService]

no and don't listen to any other answer as people don't know shit.
first of all already in 2011 FBI reported that they can trace 98% of all transactions.
Second they proposed to close the 2% gap to implement KYC in 3rd parties enteties which you have today everywhere.
And now comes the kicker the US government has a secret project which basicly can trace any owner of a transaction as long as it uses internet.
Why are they not talking about it ?Because its currently against US law to monitor this way.

 

[natsuko]

Crypto payments aren’t truly anonymous!!! Most are pseudonymous, meaning your wallet address can be traced back to you, especially if you've used exchanges that require KYC. Apps and exchanges linking personal info with wallets make it easier to identify users. For real anonymity, some people use privacy coins like Monero, but even those have limitations. Crypto might feel “under the radar,” but it’s far from fully private.

 

[moonshine7000]

no and don't listen to any other answer as people don't know shit.
first of all already in 2011 FBI reported that they can trace 98% of all transactions.
Second they proposed to close the 2% gap to implement KYC in 3rd parties enteties which you have today everywhere.
And now comes the kicker the US government has a secret project which basicly can trace any owner of a transaction as long as it uses internet.
Why are they not talking about it ?Because its currently against US law to monitor this way.

Yep they monitor traffic at the ISP level in the US and they own majority of the Tor nodes.

 

[daydream123]

You can do anonymous coin swapping, coin mixing to get rid of the coin trail.

 

[S113PPE]

They are not leaking there data

 

[googlads]

its anonymous

 

[PayWithVCC]

Crypto transactions aren't fully anonymous because blockchain records are public, and linking wallets to personal info makes it easy to trace. Without using privacy tools like mixers or privacy coins, they can be as identifiable as bank payments.

 

[caseyto1]

Monero is the only anonymous because it has all the features needed