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Since the Bitcoin blockchain is public, couldn't you follow the money? Make a list of all wallets that accepted these funds initially, and then do graph analysis, either to see where the money went or provide others with a tool to avoid transactions with those wallets?


Yes, but this is somewhat like saying you could mark the banknotes used to pay off a person that's blackmailing you. If you catch someone with a marked note that doesn't prove they are the perpetrator; it just means that they received your money somehow.


Theoretically yes, but in practice mixing services make this much much more complex.


Problem is that doesn't really help you identify the perpetrators. Both mixing services, and the fact that a user can generate unlimited wallets (if someone sends money to a wallet, you can't prove they own the second wallet or if they transferred money to someone else) makes this very difficult.




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