You can create a wallet and trade centralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum without an ID. There are many different websites that do this. The problem comes when you want to cash out your crypto for cash through an exchange such as coinbase. Most reliable and trusted exchanges are KYC which means they follow banking/finance laws and require customer information to validate their identity and most likely store it on record in case of fraudulent activity. Some exchanges allow you to send crypto to your bank without ID, but the risk is high they aren't legit and they are often limit your transaction amount. Is crypto on the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchain anonymous? Absolutely not, it's open book accounting. However, the blockchain only contains the public keys (numbers represented through QR codes) and their transaction history. If someone figures out that a public key belongs to a certain person then they can be actively tracked and monitored. You can bet all law enforcement and FBI have already been doing this. What is anonymous? Privacy-based tokens such as Monero (XMR) are designed to be more anonymous and do a better job at hiding your identity and transaction information. Not much experience with that crypto but seems to be the best bet for anonymous transactions. Assuming that there aren't any hidden backdoor methods for FBI to crack it.