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One possible reason would be to "group" reports: if 95% (or even 100%) of a certain error come from a single computer then there's either a very obscure bug or something wrong with that computer. If all reports come from different computers then it's a much more serious issue.

IP addresses aren't really super-reliable for this (corporate networks, ISP NAT), but many people still are under the misapprehension that they are, and it's probably reliable enough for this purpose.

I don't know if that's the reason; but it could be.

It seems more natural for the app to create a UUID for the purpose, then stash it in a prefs file for later use?

That's how I would do it as well, but that doesn't mean that Audacity's developers do.

They do hash IPs before sending them.

Consider multiple similar crash reports from one IP address or subnet - that could indicate, that there is something odd ie. with DNS resolution in particular network (corporate or whatever). But that's the case only for apps, that rely on internet connectivity heavily.

I agree, but how do you plan on submitting the crash report without submitting your IP address?

Obviously the receiving end will see it, but they could decide not to log it.