Many people automatically assume Bitcoin users want to remain anonymous when conducting business online. With a wider variety of tools to do so, a certain level of privacy can be established. But Ethereum users seem less inclined to rely on external services such as Tor or mixers, as some future releases should help achieve greater anonymity by default.
Ethereum Has Upcoming Anonymity Features
Remaining anonymous when dealing with Bitcoin is not possible without using third-party services these days. Bitcoin was never designed to be anonymous or privacy-enteric, even though many people assume it to be. In fact, Bitcoin is perhaps one of the most transparent financial solutions we have today, while not putting consumers at risk of overexposing their financial details.
To stay anonymous while using Bitcoin, a lot of people use Tor. This project provides users with a way to mask their actual location, even though the network has been under attack by government-sponsored hackers in the past. Another solution is to use so-called mixing services, albeit that requires trust in a third-party service provider.
Things are a bit different in the Ethereum world, albeit there may be some users relying on the same methods to achieve greater anonymity. But those who have been following the course of development closely may have noticed that there is no real need to use third-party services. Or to be more precise, that will not be necessary for the future.
One of those upcoming features is Whisper, a project that has been under development for quite some time now. At its core, Whisper will broadcast Ethereum transactions in a different way, allowing users to achieve greater anonymity. Since this is not a service run by an unknown third-party, the trust factor becomes much less of an issue.
But there is also the option of using ZeroCash technology in Ethereum smart contracts. Several developers are currently experimenting with this feature to see if it is a viable solution to provide more anonymity. If their efforts are successful, Ethereum may become the preferred currency for internet criminals due to proper anonymity traits.
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