Chain analysis

In plain words

Every Bitcoin transaction is public, forever. Chain analysis mines that record: cluster addresses that spend together and assume one owner; match exchange records to withdrawals; follow coins hop by hop. Governments and exchanges buy these maps. The heuristics guess — and they do make mistakes — but combined with KYC records they connect real names to long chains of activity. Bitcoin is not anonymous; it is pseudonymous, and pseudonyms can crack.

Why it matters

• Know your adversary: privacy practices exist because this industry does.
• Its guesses carry weight — accounts get frozen on heuristics.
• The chain never forgets: today's link exposes yesterday's history too.

Go deeper

• KYC
• Address reuse
• Coin control