Toward De-Anonymizing Bitcoin by Mapping Users Location

The Bitcoin system (https://bitcoin.org) is a pseudo-anonymous currency that can dissociate a user from any real-world identity. In that context, a successful breach of the virtual and physical divide represents a signficant aw in the Bit-coin system [1]. In this project we demonstrate how to glean information about the real-world users behind Bitcoin transactions. We analyze publicly available data about the cryptocurrency. In particular, we focus on determining information about a Bitcoin user's physical location by examining that user's spending habits.

[1]  Masooda N. Bashir,et al.  Who Uses Bitcoin? An exploration of the Bitcoin community , 2014, 2014 Twelfth Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust.

[2]  S A R A H M E I K L E J O H N,et al.  A Fistful of Bitcoins Characterizing Payments Among Men with No Names , 2013 .