But tracing bitcoins through the blockchain is largely a computational problem. Compute only gets cheaper. Identifying a robber in a ski mask is in a different problem domain.
I had never really thought about the consequences of a public blockchain and the decreasing cost of analyzing that blockchain.
I seem to recall a news story about how people who spied against US in the 40's and 50's were caught later in the 70's and 80's because the intercepted cipher texts had been kept for decades until technology was able to break and decrypt them. Looking at the blockchain reminds me of that feat. Of course, that could have also been a poorly written thriller I'm remembering instead...
I had never really thought about the consequences of a public blockchain and the decreasing cost of analyzing that blockchain.
I seem to recall a news story about how people who spied against US in the 40's and 50's were caught later in the 70's and 80's because the intercepted cipher texts had been kept for decades until technology was able to break and decrypt them. Looking at the blockchain reminds me of that feat. Of course, that could have also been a poorly written thriller I'm remembering instead...