{"items": [{"author": "James", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106345404829653994850", "anchor": "gp-1359414644613", "service": "gp", "text": "A few comments\n
\n\u00a0- Using Tor would be wise, but confirming a non-Tor-user as the source of a transaction requires observing all of their Bitcoin client traffic, in both directions, because the default Bitcoin client software operates a peer-to-peer network where nodes both originate transactions and forward them\n
\n\u00a0- Of the two parties that are serious about hiding their coins' movements - Silk Road (a black market) and MyBitcoin (a fake Bitcoin \"bank\" that ran off with all the deposits) both operate their own coin-mixing software. I recall reading about one attempt by MtGox to track stolen coins and freeze them when they entered the exchange, but it failed as the coins were found to have circulated and the depositor not involved\n
\n\u00a0- When the default Bitcoin client sends coins using an address that has more coins than needed, the extra coins go to a newly-created \"change\" address. This tends to raise the upper bound on how many hands coins have passed through between any two known parties\n
\n
\n(Also, I should point out the contraband is probably not the primary use of Bitcoin; speculative investment is.)", "timestamp": 1359414644}, {"author": "Bryce", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/110073329443149494347", "anchor": "gp-1359426054576", "service": "gp", "text": "I saw a talk by Joan Feigenbaum a couple weeks ago that seems relevant. Her system for group-anonymous communication is called Dissent:\u00a0\nhttp://dedis.cs.yale.edu/2010/anon/\n.", "timestamp": 1359426054}, {"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/117346402173047680184", "anchor": "gp-1359490147690", "service": "gp", "text": "@James\n I think the word contraband might have been a pun.", "timestamp": 1359490147}]}