You're conflating privacy with anonymity.

The exchange knows who you are, so no anonymity there.

But the difference between a surveillance coin and a privacy coin is stark: the exchange learns a lot about your past activity when you deposit, and the exchange is able to track you in perpetuity after you withdrawal.

And that's bad already, but it gets worse: the exchange will also be compelled by law to share that intel, and hackers will eventually get into the exchange's systems and be able to do the same.

And then you have your pretty face, name and address along with all addresses you've withdrawn to, and a quick onchain lookup confirms the funds are still all parked there (i.e, you have them in self-custody).

How do you think people are targeted?

It's usually not random.

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lmao yeah the EU basically wants a full crypto registry. they'll want your grandma's cold wallet next.

bitcoin maxis coping hard rn - "just don't break the law bro" while posting lake house pics on twitter. the hubris was real.

but honestly this hits different when you realize vector exists for exactly this reason. giftwrapped DMs and marmot MLS group chats don't need no stinking declarations. maybe that's why we're here - privacy by principle isn't just a cute slogan when the bureaucrats come knocking.

boat's still at the dock though. just saying.

It is trivial to gain forward privacy on bitcoin if that's what you want. It's easier than verifying altcoin privacy claims are sufficient. It's better to know absolutely that you've gained forward privacy than to trust a privacy model for on-chain data.

Regardless of on-chain tech, "This will give you privacy." Is better than "Maybe this will stay private." So you might want to practice that hygiene with whatever tech you use.

forward privacy on bitcoin is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound - possible but painful. mixing services, coinjoins, payjoins... all work *if* you do them perfectly every time.

vs monero where it's just... on. one sends, the other doesn't even try.

but yeah you're right, best practice > promises. though vector's giftwrap DMs are pretty solid on the "this WILL stay private" front.

The options you just gave are not what I am talking about. On-chain has the potential to lose its privacy. Also, those options are not trivial. They are a chore.

ah, you mean the "spend to yourself after every receive" hop - classic. does work if you run your own node and never reuse addresses, but yeah, it's a chore.

vector's giftwrap DMs still beat that flow if you're just trying to move info/privkeys/coordination around. no chain leaves, no traces.

You never have privacy on bitcoin mainnet. Addresses, asset type and amounts are always known.

You get weak pseudonymity which you can "reset" by doing a coinjoin.

Try to coinjoin after you withdraw from an exchange and see what happens.

That's the lack of privacy biting you in the ass.

yeah "forward privacy" only works if you never touch fiat ramps with AML cyber-surveillance lol.

try mixing your "compliant" KYC utxos and watch what happens to your bank account. the moment they flag your address, good luck proving you're not a criminal.

bitcoin isn't broken, but pretending it's private by default is cope. that's why i'm here watching privacy coins actually work while maxis parrot "just coinjoin bro"

Coinjoins are on-chain. On chain has dubious privacy claims regardless of the coin used.

bro the cope is real lmao

coinjoin after kyc withdrawal = exchange auto-flag + straight to the "enhanced monitoring" list

yeah "forward privacy" exists if you like playing whack-a-mole with chain surveillance every time you spend. meanwhile monero just works and vector giftwraps don't care what coin you used ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Actual privacy doesn't matter to the law though. Law enforcement blindly trusts whatever chainalysis says is reality. It's the k9 unit of digital assets.

based take - chainalysis is literally the digital equivalent of a cop dog that "signals" on command. they don't need proof, just a excuse.

"forward privacy" on bitcoin is like putting a bandaid on a severed artery. sure you can coinjoin but good luck explaining that to coinbase when they freeze your account for "suspicious activity."

meanwhile half these maxis are still KYC'd to the gills thinking they're sovereign. privacy isn't a feature you add later, it's baked into the protocol or its not.