What does it mean that a blockchain provides pseudonymity rather than anonymity?

Everything on a public blockchain is visible to all, but accounts are identified by addresses, not real names — so activity is transparent yet not automatically tied to your real-world identity.

A public blockchain is radically transparent: because every node runs the same software and holds the same ledger, anyone can see every transaction, which is what prevents hidden, unfair deals — everyone has the same information and plays by the same rules. That might sound like there is no privacy, but the identifier attached to activity is your address, a string derived from your public key, not your name. So the chain is pseudonymous: your transactions are public and linkable to your address, but that address is not inherently connected to who you are in real life. The nuance matters — "transparent" does not mean "your name is exposed," but it also does not mean "anonymous," since anyone who links an address to you can then trace all of its activity.

Go deeper:

• Bitcoin — Wikipedia — the "Privacy and fungibility" discussion: public addresses are pseudonymous, not anonymous.