<p>At best, you're going to get Pseudonymity doing things that way. A determined adversary will know that your friend got the bitcoins and transferred them to someone. It wouldn't take that much digging to find out who your friend transferred those bitcoins to. </p>

<p>For example, if you were to purchase something illegal with those bitcoins and law enforcement cared about it, they would find out that these bitcoins at one point were with your friend. At that point, they'd go and find out from him who he sold the bitcoins to. You would be found out very quickly if they can locate your friend. This is, in fact, the sort of thing detectives do all the time.</p>

<p>You'd have much better luck tumbling your bitcoins.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T15:18:43.173Z
But then my being found out relies on my friend telling them who they sold the coins to. If my friend "didn't know" they'd be used for something illegal then surely they aren't breaking any laws and aren't obligated to tell law enforcement who they sold the coins to? Surely they could claim that they didn't keep records of such things and the law would be forced to leave them alone? But I'll bow to your superior wisdom and look into tumbling instead. Thanks :)
JeneralJames
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T16:18:13.953Z
Yea, if you completely trust your friend not to snitch or record anything about your meeting (say in a text message or email), then yea, I suppose this could work. That's generally not good strategy, though.
Jimmy Song
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T15:09:20.280Z
2016-11-16T15:09:20.280Z
Jimmy Song
<p>You can also simply use a VPN like IPvanish to purchase the BTC yourself with giftcards bought with cash on Localbitcoins.com from an anonymus user account which is quite easy &amp; then send coin to an offline wallet app. Now, As this could technically be traced the effort, time, and resources, required to trace this transaction back to you would only be the sort that the NSA might use to track a high level terrorist, and eyes would already have to have been in place from the 1st action in this chain of transactions as well, so by no means will any State or lower level law enforcement have the capability let alone the need, unless like I said before it were a sought after terrorist.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T06:54:33.413Z
2016-11-18T06:54:33.413Z
brent law
<p>This a video I make a few years ago on how to get bitcoins.
To be anonymous you just need a fake/private email address (like one from protonmail.com). To be super anonymous you could use a VPN or sign up at an internet cafe.
the vid is a good intro into buying your first bitcoins.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r8kVHgjjkE&amp;t=49s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r8kVHgjjkE&amp;t=49s</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-23T13:51:11.027Z
2016-11-23T13:51:11.027Z
Mike White
<p>Be kind to me as I'm a little bit fresh off the block with regards to bitcoin...</p>

<p>Basically I'm looking for a practical way to get bitcoins anonymously. I know I can find people to meet up with to purchase bitcoins for cash and I know about Bitcoin ATMs but I was wondering, what if were to set up an anonymous bitcoin wallet and then have a friend purchase bitcoins legitimately through an exchange and then transfer the bitcoins to my wallet... Isn't this pretty much exactly what those people meeting for cash are doing? Obviously then it's not anonymous for my friend but so what? They don't need anonymity if all they're doing is buying and selling bitcoins right?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<privacy>
Can I get Bitcoins anonymously by having a friend perchase them from an exchange and tranferring them to me?
JeneralJames
# Can I get Bitcoins anonymously by having a friend perchase them from an exchange and tranferring them to me?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-16)

Be kind to me as I'm a little bit fresh off the block with regards to bitcoin...

Basically I'm looking for a practical way to get bitcoins anonymously. I know I can find people to meet up with to purchase bitcoins for cash and I know about Bitcoin ATMs but I was wondering, what if were to set up an anonymous bitcoin wallet and then have a friend purchase bitcoins legitimately through an exchange and then transfer the bitcoins to my wallet... Isn't this pretty much exactly what those people meeting for cash are doing? Obviously then it's not anonymous for my friend but so what? They don't need anonymity if all they're doing is buying and selling bitcoins right?

Thanks

**Tags:** privacy


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-11-16. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

At best, you're going to get Pseudonymity doing things that way. A determined adversary will know that your friend got the bitcoins and transferred them to someone. It wouldn't take that much digging to find out who your friend transferred those bitcoins to.

For example, if you were to purchase something illegal with those bitcoins and law enforcement cared about it, they would find out that these bitcoins at one point were with your friend. At that point, they'd go and find out from him who he sold the bitcoins to. You would be found out very quickly if they can locate your friend. This is, in fact, the sort of thing detectives do all the time.

You'd have much better luck tumbling your bitcoins.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: But then my being found out relies on my friend telling them who they sold the coins to. If my friend "didn't know" they'd be used for something illegal then surely they aren't breaking any laws and aren't obligated to tell law enforcement who they sold the coins to? Surely they could claim that they didn't keep records of such things and the law would be forced to leave them alone? But I'll bow to your superior wisdom and look into tumbling instead. Thanks :)  
> **username_1**: Yea, if you completely trust your friend not to snitch or record anything about your meeting (say in a text message or email), then yea, I suppose this could work. That's generally not good strategy, though.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2016-11-18. Score: 0

You can also simply use a VPN like IPvanish to purchase the BTC yourself with giftcards bought with cash on Localbitcoins.com from an anonymus user account which is quite easy & then send coin to an offline wallet app. Now, As this could technically be traced the effort, time, and resources, required to trace this transaction back to you would only be the sort that the NSA might use to track a high level terrorist, and eyes would already have to have been in place from the 1st action in this chain of transactions as well, so by no means will any State or lower level law enforcement have the capability let alone the need, unless like I said before it were a sought after terrorist.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2016-11-23. Score: 0

This a video I make a few years ago on how to get bitcoins.
To be anonymous you just need a fake/private email address (like one from protonmail.com). To be super anonymous you could use a VPN or sign up at an internet cafe.
the vid is a good intro into buying your first bitcoins.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r8kVHgjjkE&t=49s>


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