| Define "anonymously". Hypothetically someone steals a lot of money from somebody else, if the amount is large enough the victim may be willing to do a lot of detective work in order to trace the funds. This detective work might include... * Blockchain analysis * Offering money to bitcoin mixers in return for information * Traditional private investigation Cash has the same problem, bills can be tracked if the parties involved are motivated enough. Cash does go a long way to providing privacy though, for example in days gone by a husband might have bought a pornographic magazine with cash and the wife would be unaware. This will annoy the libertarian crowd, but a truly anonymous and untraceable medium of exchange is not only most likely impossible, but also undesirable. The failed war on drugs aside, a lot of the things people want to do completely anonymously are illegal for good reasons (CP, human trafficking, etc). It remains to be seen if bitcoin can offer the same kind of privacy that cash does, if bitcoin adoption continues I expect blockchain analysis to become very sophisticated. |
Does child pornography make cameras "undesirable"? How about USB external hard drives? Or the Internet?
Does human trafficking make chains and locks "undesirable"? White cargo vans with blacked-out windows? Freeways?
Seriously, let's focus on attacking the unjust behavior itself, not blaming tools and implements that have no inherent intent or character, for good or for evil.