Also, you can pay for a VPN without revealing your identity. Not so with ISPs. I use a VPN, for instance, to mask my Tor usage from my ISP. (I'm an American using the Internet in the United States.)
True. But the VPN provider effectively knows who you are, because they see your IP address. Or rather, a resourceful adversary can get your IP address from the VPN provider, and then get your identity from your ISP.
If you chain VPNs, however, it certainly makes sense to lease the second/indirect VPN anonymously.
I don't think IP alone will not be sufficient, for ex i am sure my ISP extensibly NATs the network and shares the same IP for many users. So much so that Google keeps asking for captcha every couple of days
If you chain VPNs, however, it certainly makes sense to lease the second/indirect VPN anonymously.