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Can anybody follow one of these "branches" until the very last known transaction on the blockchain? Would that clear anything up?


I haven't seen anyone do a comprehensive analysis yet. I assume someone is working on this. But maybe everyone else thinks that too.

Here is a some background information at Let's Talk Bitcoin:

http://letstalkbitcoin.com/the-ghost-in-the-machine-at-mtgox


If you were going to steal bitcoins in this manner you'd run them through a number of tumblers. Tumblers are essentially the laundering facility for bitcoins. Lots of coins from various locations come in, put into a pool, and then get sent back out. There's no way to track coins you receive back to a particular transaction. Since 6% of all bitcoins are stolen, more than likely anyone holding bitcoins has a good chance of holding some stolen ones.


Yeah, people have been trying all kinds of analysis on these addresses on r/bitcoin this week- So far the jury is out as to whether meaningful info can be gathered in this way.




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