How Can Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies Be Traced?

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The most essential feature of cryptocurrency you must have known as a crypto enthusiast (whether a beginner or expert) is “Transparency”; in that transactions made with crypto are transparent to the public. 

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However, you might have wanted to gain clarity on this question: “How can Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency be traced?”

In this post, we’ll be looking into this popular question, and you’ll be able to know if Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency can be traced or not.

How Can Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrency Be Traced?

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Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency assets can be traced by using a particular crypto protocol explorer.

Every cryptocurrency has its protocol that governs how they operate. Thus, all cryptocurrencies have an explorer  – that showcases every activity going on in the protocol.

How is this possible? It’s because cryptocurrency is a type of technology built on Blockchain – which is a distributed ledger that doesn’t require a central authority.

Transparency is a core feature of Blockchain, which makes it very easy to track the activities on the network.

For instance, to trace Bitcoin, you need to go to the Bitcoin explorer, and you’d be able to see all BTC holders and also see detailed information from the address that owns a certain amount of BTC to when it was transferred to the wallet address, and also where or which wallet it was transferred from.

So, when a crypto transaction occurs; it’d be recorded after validation on the blockchain, and these explorers are the tools that facilitate the transparency of the transaction that happened.

Other examples of explorers for other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Tron, and others are: Etherscan, Tronscan, etc.

Also read: Is Binance Centralized or Decentralized ? – Revealed

Can Bitcoin Transaction Be Tracked?

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Yes, Bitcoin transactions can be tracked. In the previous header, I explained that crypto is built on blockchain and that Blockchain enhances transparency.

Since Blockchain is a chain of blocks, and these blocks are a record of transactions that have occurred – this means that all Bitcoin transactions are linked to each other (from the genesis to the end).

If a Bitcoin transaction has occurred on the Blockchain a minute ago when another transaction occurred; it has to be linked to the previous one to be deemed a verified transaction.

This makes it easier for absolutely anyone to track Bitcoin transactions because the aforementioned process of recording transactions will help you to know the genesis of the Bitcoin asset that you’re tracking.

You’ll be seeing almost everything that’s happening with that Bitcoin (where it’s being moved to and other information).

Can Bitcoin Address Be Tracked?

Since a crypto transaction can be traced, it’s also possible to track a Bitcoin address.

The wallet address is one of the details you’d get about a particular transaction that you’re tracing.

So, yes; Bitcoin addresses can be tracked.

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Can Crypto Wallet Be Traced?

In this case, it is important to know that a crypto wallet is a tool used for storing a variety of cryptocurrencies. 

And if it’s a non-custodial wallet, since a third party cannot access the wallet unless given the private key by the owner, it might be difficult to trace and know which crypto assets are stored in the wallet.

The only thing you can do is trace a particular coin and also tokens under the coin blockchain – with the public key of that asset.

To break it down, if ETH and BTC are stored in a particular crypto wallet, and you want to track the wallet on Etherscan by using the ETH public key of the wallet; you will only be able to trace the ETH and other ERC20 tokens (cryptocurrency created under Ethereum blockchain) that are stored in the wallet, while you won’t see the BTC that’s stored alongside ETH and other Erc20 tokens in the wallet.

Check out: WHY DO CRYPTO COINS GET BURNED?

Conclusion: How Can Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrency Be Traced?

Crypto transactions are openly available for anyone to track, however, it’s popularly believed that the identity of a person behind a wallet address cannot be traced because of the anonymity feature of Blockchain.

That’s somehow not true as your identity can be traced through IP address in as much you’ve connected to the internet to carry out your crypto transaction.

 

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About Samson Olatinwo 7 Articles
Samson Olatinwo is a creative blockchain content writer and marketer, a young fellow that derives passion from creating insightful content about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I write SEO-optimized content to improve web3 project visibility on search engines. Open to collaboration: samsonolatinwo3@gmail.com.