Bitcoin Forum

it's not a secret for everyone on this forum that full-scale regulations will decrease Bitcoin privacy dramatically. Registration and verification of self custodian wallets sound like a bad joke.

Several years ago it was just enough to have several bitcoin wallets and to use a mixer time by time to remain anonymous. Nowadays everything turns upside down. If you registered in any centralized exchanges, you linked your identity with your bitcoin address and probably to your entire financial BTC history.


In this thread, I would like to collect advice and best practices on

1. How to stay anonymous when you buy and sell Bitcoin?
2. How to anonymize Bitcoin if you purchased it from a centralized exchange?


Besides this, I would like to find out what is the best anonymous bitcoin wallet for 2021. Please share your top privacy-protecting bitcoin wallets and highlight the reasons they this or that wallet in your top. 


*Please do not advertise, but be honest about why do you like/dislike a wallet.

Use Decentralized exchanges (e.g. Bisq, hodl hodl)

As long as you not submit any KYC to an exchanges, you're fine. But if you already submitted, use a mixer and don't withdrawing all the funds in one times since it make you could be traced easily.


Both Wasabi and Samourai wallet are the good option for privacy since they have CoinJoin features. But it's much complicated especially if you're new about that wallet.

It's pretty difficult to be totally anonymous, but you can maximize it by purchasing through non-KYC exchanges such as HodlHodl[1], LocalCryptos[2], and Bisq[3]. That way, only you and the person you're transacting with(and the platform) knows about the transaction.

Run them through a joinjoincoinjoin service(Wasabi[4], Samourai[5], JoinMarket[6]) or a mixing service(ChipMixer[7]). Along with that, follow basic privacy guidelines such as not reusing addresses and coin control.

Pretty much run Bitcoin Core[6]. Not the most user friendly, but if you really want to maximize privacy then go use it. You can run it through Tor which is a huge plus in terms of anonymity.

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[1] https://hodlhodl.com/
[2] https://localcryptos.com/
[3] https://bisq.network/
[4] https://wasabiwallet.io/
[5] https://samouraiwallet.com/
[6] https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/

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EDIT: typo

CEX does not affect privacy as long as you did not go through KYC. Sometimes I even mix my coins using CEX exchanges (profit earned on 1 exchange, traded to monero, withdraw to another exchanges, traded back to BTC and withdraw - sometimes even with arbitrage profit. Its much cheaper than mixing in mixers during high BTC transaction fees) - rule nr.1 No KYC, rule nr.2 avoid your home IP - use tor, VPN. As long as you are not a terrorist chased by an arrest warrant by Interpol no one will really bother to track that.

Back to BTC wallets:
1- Wasabi
2- Samourai

This is not correct. CEXs keep complete logs of every deposit, trade, and withdrawal. Even if you have not completed KYC, those logs are linked against your IP, your device, your browser fingerprint, tracking cookies, etc. CEXs commonly run their own blockchain analysis programs, share this data with with governments, other exchanges, and other third parties. Using a CEX to "mix" coins will actively make your privacy worse, not better, even without KYC.

ChipMixer has a pay-what-you-want model, so at a minimum you are only paying a single additional transaction fee. This is definitely less than the withdrawal fee you will from any exchange.

VPNs do not provide anonymity. You are simply moving your trust from your ISP to your VPN provider. Use Tor.

So if you are a "terrorist chased by an arrest warrant by Interpol" you are easy to track, but if you want your 1000$ to be hidden from Internet randoms than its safe enough. Or am i terribly wrong? Does evey tiny CEX share every transaction, even small, with all governments around the globe?

I do agree that this is not a bulletproof solution. Its like purple wool sweater. It will not stop a bullet but... it will hide your naked body from prying eyes. I should add it to my first post as a warning ... i agree.


If you already have funds on exchange and wants to withdraw you have to pay withdrawal fee anyway (either from exchange 1 or 2). All you add is 1 monero withdrawal from exchange 1 to 2 and monero transfer is very cheap (0.0001 XMR on binance)

If you are simply interested in hiding your transactions from a random user of this forum (for example), whose only means of trying to track your coin movements would be to look them up on a block explorer, then sure, going through a CEX will achieve that. If you are interested in achieving privacy from companies such as Chainalysis or Elliptic which are performing in-depth deanonymization of the entire blockchain on a massive scale, then using a CEX, particularly big ones like Coinbase which work closely with the US (and other) governments, is likely to make things worse rather than better for you.

Ahh right sure, if your funds are already on an exchange then the fee scenario is different. If your funds are not on an exchange though, then you would be paying a transaction fee to the exchange, a trading fee to Monero, a withdrawal fee for Monero, a trading fee back to BTC, and a withdrawal fee for BTC, which would all come out far more than a transaction to ChipMixer.

I'd personally advice that once you start anonymizing your coins you should never link them back to your identity again, be it accounts that are yours and have been registered through the clearnet or a KYC-verified account. Breaking the chain would be useless if you only do it to link them back to you after a while.

I personally prefer Wasabi over Samourai, but another great option is using JoinMarket (https://github.com/JoinMarket-Org/joinmarket-clientserver). It's less user-friendly than Wasabi/Samourai, but it provides an option to earn Bitcoin (https://github.com/JoinMarket-Org/joinmarket/wiki/Running-a-Yield-Generator) while breaking the chain of de-anonymized coins constantly rather than paying fees for anonymizing them. A 2-in-1.

Practices? If you want to go the anonymous way, then keep it up and never go back to the old, more "convenient" ways because then the anonymization would be in vain. I'd use an airgapped PC for my anonymous coins and another online separate PC with a dedicated live session for each transaction I'm broadcasting. Tails or Whonix are great options to go for, but I wouldn't use Whonix on Windows with VMware/Virtualbox. Use Linux (or Qubes) instead.

Also, if you want to use live sessions to broadcast txs from your cold anonymized wallet, never import the master pubkey. Instead, import only the addresses you will need for that specific transaction. As Electrum will be used in SPV mode, if you import all the addresses from your wallet using the master pubkey, the server will know all those addresses from your wallet are owned by 1 single person.

Also, when using Wasabi, remember there is a change (https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/using-wasabi/ChangeCoins.html) you should take care of. You may find yourself having lots of outputs of ~0.1BTC in your wallet and just as many change addresses worth less than $10 each. Linking change back together while still respecting the privacy coinjoins provide is a pain in the arse.

Don't worry, Binance exchange can withdraw 2 BTC daily without KYC. in this case you still anonymous.

Then, after you bought from Binance withdrawing your 2 BTC into Electrum or Coinomi wallet, in this case, you still anonymous if you didn't tell your address to everyone.

Not really. They have your IP, your browser fingerprint, your location and so on. Can't call "anonymous" a website that logs data which could easily be used to identify you.

Since Tor IPs are often banned as some users abuse them and try doing malicious stuff through them, Binance will most likely either ban your account or freeze your funds if you attempt hiding your IP through Tor as well. Bisq is the only safe option we currently have as a replacement for centralized exchanges.

Yup, and then they will request KYC to unlock your account. Every exchange which offers both KYC and non-KYC accounts has a plethora of complaints across every platform from here to reddit to social media of people having their non-KYC account locked for completely arbitrary or even unknown reasons, everything from "We don't like where you have deposited/withdrawn coins from/to" to "You logged in from a different IP than usual". Whenever you use an account a centralized exchange, you are at risk of being asked to complete KYC locked out of your account and having your coins confiscated unless you complete KYC.

You are never anonymous using a centralized exchange, your privacy is always at risk, and your KYC documents can be asked for at any time without notice. If you don't comply, say bye to your coins.

The very short answer to the all question above is to avoid using centralized exchanges when are buying bitcoin, hodl hodl is an example of decentralized exchanges. Also, try to never use the website when they ask you for the KYC info or they will ask for the KYC info soon because they can track the transaction easily. Always mix the coin using a proper trusted bitcoin mixer. If you bought bitcoins from centralized exchange try to mix the coin and clean them. try to use Tails OS and tor network if you are going to stay anonymous and safe.

I am okay about that, I will pay tax and I will be a good citizen. I am a young boy who only has a small balance, never withdrawing more than 0.1 BTC.  ;D ;D. I won't make my life more complicated.

You want to be anonymous and exchange on decentralized exchanges is a possibility. Currently, the exchanges are reputable and have a high trading volume in terms of trading volume they have required by KYC forms and if you do not KYC you can withdraw 2 BTC per day this can still help you hide name. you can sell BTC to Coinomi wallet , trust , saffepal ... in this case you remain anonymous if you don't let people know your real identity address.

Most centralized exchanges which used to offer reasonable volume of non-KYC withdrawals are no longer doing this. Binance used to offer 2 BTC per day, and that has now been reduced to 0.06 BTC per day. I expect it will drop further or be removed altogether in the future, and I also expect all other centralized exchanges which offer non-KYC withdrawals to also limit or remove this feature in the future as governments pressure them with more and more regulations. If you want non-KYC trading and withdrawals, a good DEX such as Bisq is your only reliable option.

No, you don't. Just because you aren't completing KYC does not mean you are anonymous. Whenever you use any centralized exchange, whether or not it is embedded in a wallet, you are giving away plenty of information, from your bitcoin addresses to your IP addresses to your unique device identifier. All this information is likely being shared with third parties and blockchain analysis companies.

stay anonymous is keep to your own wallet not centalized wallet like exchange, or online wallet who doesnt give seed phrase
mixing when u want to deposit and withdraw but yeah the fee itself will make u mad  :) using wrapped bitcoin and do the transcation on other chain to keep low on fee
using decentralized exchange for trade

and using p2p when withdrawing to fiat

Well, the thread is about practices to anonymize Bitcoins hence why I responded that way.. if you are using a centralized exchange, identifiable information still sits out therd for them to collect and process it in any way they want. The only way to stay off-grid is Bisq + p2p cash <> crypto transactions.

Enhanced privacy against whom? If they are governments, they will need a lot to do based on the information your government has access to:

• Stop using block explorers.
• Stop using any centralized Bitcoin related service.
• Stop making your Bitcoin addresses public.
• Stop using block explorers.
• Always check using Tor with a computer dedicated to cryptocurrency.
• Create a full node wallet and then broadcast all your transactions using it.
• Use decentralized mixing services and platforms that do not require identity verification.

Finally, unless you are professional and careful, it is impossible to remain anonymous.

Being anonymous doesn't mean you avoid revealing personal data such as your name, phone number, passport etc. Anonymity is the condition where there's NO WAY for an individual to work out your personal information. For example, if you give someone your IP address, you are not anonymous. The fact that your name remains unknown to them doesn't mean it will remain forever. There are ways one can locate you based on your IP address; first ones? The government.

The wallets you mentioned are not recommended if you want to remain anonymous. Instead, the greatest anonymity you can achieve in Bitcoin is by using a non-custodial wallet which is connected to your full node which is also connected to the Bitcoin network through Tor.

That's the highest decree of anonymity Bitcoin offers you.

Do we think that Bitcoin mixers/tumblers will become useless as blockchain analysis gets better?

Will we create applications that analyze the blockchain well enough to see through mixed Bitcoin?

I think the opposite. I think mixers, tumblers, coinjoins, and other privacy enhancing techniques will both continue to be developed and improved upon, and will also become more and more in demand as blockchain analysis companies, centralized exchanges, governments, and many other third parties spy ever more heavily on bitcoin users.

Many of the mixers which use the "classical" technique of sending coins to a deposit address, the mixer bouncing them around with other users' coins, and then sending some other coins back after a delay, have already been broken to various degrees. There is a great document discussing this here: Breaking Mixing Services (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5117328.0). This is why it is important to use a reputable mixer which cannot be broken in this manner and not just any old mixer you stumble across.