[flowctrl]

Note that the Chinese government also demanded DVDs of all transaction records at the exchanges. This means that the Chinese citizens who moved their Bitcoin off of the exchange will have to answer to the bean counters.

How could a clever Chinese citizen avoid government scrutiny of their cryptocurrency finances under these conditions? They could trade Yuan (cash) for BTC through an underground mechanism of some sort. The vast majority will already be on the record at the soon to be defunct exchanges.

[eternalban]

Let's do a little searching for "anonymous" in the memory hole:

http://www.newsweek.com/virtual-currency-bitcoin-anonymous-w...

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/10/the-crypto-cur...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/06/bitcoin-inside-t...

https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/20/bitcoin-ven-and-the-end-of...

https://gizmodo.com/5803124/what-is-bitcoin

Hah. So the usual suspects were pimping it, in 2011, as "anonymous". Surprise!?

It's like the utopia of Internet sold in the 90s that predictably mutated into the global panopticon.

Always read the specifications. Always.

[thephyber]

If you use an exchange, you are one step removed from the cryptocurrency.

Complaining about the lack of privacy of BitCoin when using an exchange is like complaining that you did an illicit transaction in front of a police station to ensure you didn't get mugged, but are surprised when the police use security camera footage as evidence against you.

[eternalban]

Straw man, much? Who is "complaining"?

I am pointing out that it was "sold" as "anonymous", by the establishment. And it clearly could not be that, per spec.

In fact, I also remember that this feature of cryptocurrencies was subtly communicated to a larger audiance in conjunction with stories about "a group of hackers called Anonymous" -- you know, those guys with their suited headless figure in front of a globe with imperial laurels logo. (Someone must have gotten a good lolly laugh coming up with that zinger of a logo. Or possibly merely sniffed in contempt.)

[howlin]

They could buy the hardware and power needed to mine new coins. This seems to be the simplest solution for someone who wants to get a couple thousand bitcoins without leaving a paper trail.

[solotronics]

there is a theory that this is the reason the majority of miners are in China. Combine cheap power from bribed officials and the mining ASICs and you have money laundering generators.

[Retric]

Buying Bitcoin ASIC miners creates a paper trail.

Manufacturing them in china let's you move money around, but you could also Manufacture anything else and just sell it in the west.

[duxup]

You gotta buy the hardware in some fashion that is deniable or hidden .... same thing with running it.

That's a lot of work.