Highly dependent on who you are, your threat model, and what you are doing online. Most of us are such small potatoes to the governments of the world that it isn't a big deal IMO. For most people privacy is far more important than anonymity. Privacy is choosing what you reveal. Edward Snowden has a very different threat model than myself.

I'm not saying who cares and it doesn't matter. I think it does but I think being completely anonymous for most people is probably overkill. We live in such a surveillance state that few of us could withstand the eye of Sauron. I do think privacy is more important for bitcoiners than no-coiners. At least for the most part. I'm very selective about what I share online but at the same time I'm not ashamed or afraid to stand up as a bitcoiner. I don't want my UTXOs to be public but I don't yet feel like I need a nym. Or maybe I already have several...

I respect folks that operate as nyms. If I were a bitcoin contributor I would do it as a nym. I guess my advice would be to do an analysis of your threat model and act accordingly.

Very.

Even ignoring the government potential crack down / seizures it's just basic OPSEC. Many, many people have been physically assaulted to get to their bitcoins, so don't say anything that would give people the idea you're stacking heaps

General discussion and education of the topic is fine though 🙂

It's good to think ahead. Consider the following landscape 5 years from now:

Nobody knows how things will pan out, but at least some of this has to happen eventually. Do you want to remain public in such an environment? Because if you are public now, you are public forever; the internet never forgets.

Excellent question. I think it's very important in order to increase one's optionality. Also important is three flag like thinking whereby you play jurisdictions off against each other with multiple residencies. I think owning Bitcoin will be a blessing and a curse if this thing gets as big as we think it might. A blessing in that one's purchasing power will grow. A curse in that one will have a target on one's back. "Be your own bank" they said. But did you give thought to what it takes to be a bank? Infosec, opsec, reactive security, proactive security. And given the immutable and public nature of the Bitcoin Blockchain, one's mistakes live forever and are carried forward into the future. So energy focussed now on infosec and opsec is energy well spent, imo. Then again I am a tinfoil hat wearing worrier so maybe I'm just seeing ghosts in the pocket. Hope to be proven wrong with a more utopian future but fear that I'll be right with something resembling 1984. As Odell says "it's a game of survival". Like most of what Odell says, it's not just a platitude. A lot of thought and presience is distilled into his slogans.

Big important

“The fact that I sometimes speak about bitcoin online is no guarantee that I have any.”

Important to note the difference between anonymous and pseudonymous.

Anonymous is 4chan Pseudonymous would be this guy https://twitter.com/wallstreetsilv

The internet is very public, visible to the world. Regardless whether the government will come for us or not, it’s always good practice to stay anonymous and maintain privacy. By revealing your identity and also revealing that you hold bitcoin, it puts a target on you; be it possible government seizures or even just a $10 wrench attack (up from $5 due to inflation) from some online stalker. Especially if you believe bitcoin will eventually become the money of the world, the target on your back will only become larger if you lose your anonymity.

So stay vigilant and stay anonymous my fellow anon.

Online is way too public.

Also, you don't behave in the same way with each person you know, so why doing it online?

Having a single username/real name in everything you do online is not wise.

At least some level of anonymity is key, otherwise you can't really say or do anything freely.

It never hurts to be prepared. The higher your profile, the larger your stack or involvement the more it matters.

Between where we are and where most of us think we're going, there is going to be a lot of economic upheaval. I think there's a very good chance Bitcoiners will be scapegoated and demonized as we go through it. In times like that, it's wise to either be too big to be taken down or not make yourself a target.

In general, I wish being anonymous online was easier. Anonymity and privacy is a spectrum. Trying to be perfect is difficult, but there are some easy measures and tools out there that greatly increases one's privacy.

A lot of our systems were built without privacy in mind, or at least prioritized, though. A user of popular Internet sites and apps is going to compromise a lot of their privacy. A user of a common cell phone with a common cell plan will also lose a lot of privacy.

It seems a lot of Bitcoin projects are conscious of privacy and anonymity more so than others. This is a good sign and I am bullish on privacy in the Bitcoin space overall.

It is one thing to fight for your online privacy. Don't forget your other security measures. Find a good community, arm yourself and your loved ones, be a hard target, be ungovernable.

I think governments tend to grow until they get chopped down in one way or another. Bitcoin and Bitcoiners are certainly a threat to state control. Privacy will be important in the future, no matter what happens.

as much as we can, matters not who you are but what you say (or do). There a lot of famous #^@%%##s and also few quiet/anonymous geniuses ... makes me think of one who's name start with S and ends in oto :-)

Being anonymous is not suitable for everyone. It takes a lot of effort to be completely anonymous and not everyone has the technical knowledge to do it. And taking care of privacy is very important and I think it's necessary for any user on the network, not just a bitcoiner. Always be aware of the amount of information you put online, what traces you leave behind. In 2023 with the ubiquitous big brother, privacy is a must.

I would argue that being anonymous online and having a presence is almost impossible nowadays, or at least extremely difficult and reserved for a few. Which makes Satoshi’s story even more marvellous and impressive actually.

But, having said that, we should still strive for anonymity as the ultimate protection of human free speech.

Best not to tell anyone how much you have. Better also prepare to become a target when BTC becomes harder & harder to come by.

Être discret sur ce que vous possédez, c'est la clé pour être un bon bitcoiner. En restant anonyme, vous protégez votre identité, vos avoirs et c'est l'un des objectifs premiers des cryptomonnaies

Security wise both online and offline (physically).

You can clearly see the WEF roadmap they have in 2030: CBDC, Digital IDs and Smart Cities. It gets sooner when there will be a crackdown on encryption, governments will have sophisticated tools to track your crypto and they will track your life online and offline with Digital IDs.

Monero is under-appreciated between Bitcoiners but it is better you diversify to privacy coins, and be aware all your digital life can be used against you.

Is it important that you buy a cup of coffee to let people know? The point is not whether it is important or not, the point is that privacy is a basic human right. Privacy is not anonymity. The way to be anonymous in the cell phone age is to not use the cell phone. But using a phone can still maintain privacy, depending on how you do it.