Bitcoin Forum

Hodling is something almost everyone in the Bitcoin ecosystem wants to participate in,and therefore the use of cold wallets and hard ware wallets which deem to be more secure is necessary.However how really does one keep his hodling wallet secret from the internet with the open source nature of Bitcoin. For instance assuming you have multiple Bitcoin wallets and a particular HODLING wallet which you fund using the other wallets(the multiple wallets), using block chain explorers to inspect the transaction history of the other wallets will give a trace to the hodling wallet and therefore give someone the ability to monitor the assets in your HODLING wallet .How then can this problem be solved? Of course someone may suggest Using mixers to run the transactions how ever is there any other alternative way of moving funds to a hodling wallet from other wallets without any trace?
Also I would like to understand more about how mixers work so I will appreciate any summarized explanation or any article on mixing.

You can generate an address offline and send funds there.

You really don't have to worry about your Hodling wallet if you have made it air-gapped because cold wallets are the safest option we have and even if someone knows about your wallet address then still that person won't be able to hack your Bitcoin. The cold wallets are very safe to hold Bitcoin for long durations but still a person has to be careful before using any cold wallets. The precautions should be related to installed operating system mostly.

The wallet software should be installed on a freshly installed copy of an operating system (Linux the best choice,) and once everything is done in the best way e.g wallet software installation, wallet generation, and wallet private key + seed phrase generation and saving those on multiple storage options, then the user should get the address and send Bitcoin into that address and completely cut out the internet from that system. That's the best way to Hodl Bitcoin and a user doesn't need to worry about hackers if he/she has done the steps in the best way possible.

Bitcoin being open-source means that the code is available to the public. That doesn't mean everyone can know you have bitcoin.


Anyways, as you worry about your privacy:

1. Don't reuse addresses and give a new address to any one who wants to send you bitcoin.
2. Use Coin control. With spending multiple UTXO(s) in the same transaction, you may ham your privacy and that's why you should use coin control.
3. Don't use block explorers or SPV wallets with your real IP address. You can even run your own node, so that you don't rely on nodes run by third parties when you want to check your balance or broadcast a transaction.

Well other than using a mixer and conjoin feature you can use the Monero or Zcash tokens to obfuscate your transactions. But in short what actually happens in Monero and Zcash is, mixing. Like you have to convert BTC to XMR and use the XMR built-in mixing service to obfuscate the transactions, once you receive the obfuscated funds (XMR) then you can convert them back into BTC.

So you must be thinking about what really makes them both unique from each other. The simplest difference is, that XMR has its own features while the Mixers you will use are third parties, secondly, XMR works as an integral part of the blockchain and mixes transactions by using enhanced security that cannot be reversed easily, and the TXs with XMR are totally private.

I hope it would be of some help to you.
I can mention tens of threads here, but the best way for you to understand the functioning of mixers is to go check all the review compaigns run till now, and check all the reviews written by expereinced users and then you will be able to understand what actually happens in Mixers.

• https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5106873.0
• All you need to know about Mixer before using it (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5438875.msg61731436#msg61731436)

So by doing that, and sending fund from one wallet to this address, will it not be traced using any explorer. I mean, it can so why did you suggested this method, I didn't understand.

That's good that you shared the tips to keep the wallet and funds safe but that's not what OP was asking, he was asking for ways to obfuscate the TXs.

I assume it's pretty much about privacy. You don't want to be traced. So this isn't hard for non-custodial wallet users. Just don't share your address with anyone else. Because there are no technologies to hide your transactions on the blockchain. So you have to hide your address from the public. Yes, the mixer could break the transaction. No one can assume who owns the address if you don't share it. Even if you buy from an exchange, they know about your address. To protect your privacy 100 percent, you have to use our mixer and don't reveal your address.

It's true that they can use blockchain to track the transaction and see the wallet that holds the most of the coin, but what they cannot do is know that you (Mia Chloe) are the real person who has the wallet. What you should be more concerned about is the security of your wallet and your privacy. I mean, the security of your cold wallet should be taken seriously, plus the fact that you should learn not to reveal your privacy informations through KYC. Since it's a cold wallet, you don't need to always log it online.

On blockchain technology, every transaction is transparent because you can know which wallet received or sent the coin, but you cannot get the identity of the person who carried out the transaction. It is not a problem; that's how technology was designed.

A person cannot know your total balance, your total addresses inside your wallet if you manage a full node with features such as coincontrol, but all he will know is part of the wallet balance, and he may try to track that some addresses will return to you without confirming that. If you use a mixing service or Whirlpool, the trace of your transactions will be greatly hidden.

if this happens, unless you provide your data to CEX, it will not know your name, but will determine that it belongs to you.

Unless you move your Bitcoin to a centralized exchange where you have submitted KYC, I don't think there is anyway a Bitcoin address can be traced to you. They could see the assets and the movement of funds from the public explorer but when they do not know the owner of the wallet, I don't think there is any problem to this.

Mixers are still your best bet if you really do not want your wallet to be monitored. They are cheap to use and readily available. So to me, I will suggest you continue using mixers to get clean Bitcoin without being worried about being monitored.

There are several mixers in the services announcement section of the forum. You can check the thread for Sinbad mixer to understand in detail how it works. Alternatively,  you can visit sinbad.io and you will see all the information you need. It is pretty easy and straightforward.

Generate a new BTC address, and make sure not to contact any KYC-compliant exchanges. Mixer may be the best option for obfuscating transactions from the original BTC address to your new address. If that's the case, don't tell anyone your public address. To truly make your device untraceable is impossible because the blockchain is open source and anyone can track it, at least Mixer is able to help in obscuring transactions to your main wallet.

You are confusing security with privacy. You start by talking about security (cold storage, etc.) then follow up with privacy (checking history in a centralized block explorer). The two are not related. In other words even if you have zero privacy (eg. posting all your addresses with your driver's license on the internet) your coins can still not be stolen (unless they find and physically attack you!).

So if you create a cold storage properly, your coins will remain safe.
Now if you want to improve your privacy, there are many ways to do it. For example you could start running your own full node where you only import your addresses (without private keys) to create a watch only wallet. You could also run the node through Tor to even further increase your privacy.

Mixers are an entirely different matter. It is an option to use when you have coins that you want to be "mixed" so that the link between the new coins you receive and the old coins you had is severed.

Someone might know your Bitcoin wallet address, but they'll never know it's you who is holding it. Everything can be checked on the blockchain, including the balance of your wallet. There's no risk in that as long as you have your seed and passwords securely stored. It should not be a concern.

Now, since you also asked about a mixer, that's a different matter. It involves mixing your funds, making it difficult to trace transactions from the sender's wallet. However, it still goes through the blockchain, so they can check the wallet but not identify you.

I do not think that what you want is possible, it seems to me you want to completely hide any incoming transactions to your addresses in a wallet that is in cold storage, but even if you used mixers this is not possible, as at some point you will send your mixed coins to this wallet and leave a trace on the blockchain about what you did.

However there is no reason to be as worried as you are, as long as none of those addresses are connected to your real identity you can keep your privacy, and if you created your cold storage wallet in a safe environment or you are using a hardware wallet then your coins will be secure from most attacks, even if the balance and the transaction history of those addresses is visible to everyone.

Aren't you a little bit paranoid? Who is going to monitor and track the transactions in your cold wallet? Unless you are a big crypto whale, who is HODLing several millions USD worth of BTC, nobody is going to give a sh*t about your cold wallet. Having a good opsec(operational security) and being aware about the nature of most crypto scams/hacks is more than enough to keep your cold wallet safe.
I don't recommend using BTC mixers(unless you are dealing with some darknet stuff and you have something to hide). You might lose your coins, if you send them to an untrustworthy BTC mixer. Sooner or later all BTC mixers exit scam eventually.

My crypto wallet is offline and this makes it safer, all you need is your wallet address when ever you buy some coins just send to your wallet address and if you want to track your wallet it's fine to do so and it's safer, I use a wallet tracker app that I got from play store and insert my wallet address, this is how I see all my coins in one place, and it alerts me when I send new coins into the wallet.

If you want to hide transactions it's better to use mixer service but there is no way someone can know who owns a particular bitcoin wallet, so in this case they are free to know the Bitcoin address, it's why many people know the wallet address of big Bitcoin whales till date and able to keep track of them when they move the Bitcoin.

There is no way to receive Bitcoin without getting involved with a centralized exchange and even if you use p2p services you still have to drop your wallet address, this shouldn't be an issue unless you are trying to move stolen Bitcoin? Not my problem, Mixer is the solution for this.

You know, mixers do often get a bad rap because they can be used to shuffle around stolen funds. And that's true, but I reckon we shouldn't harp on that too much. Their main purpose is all about providing anonymity, and what users choose to do with that is on them. They've got to own up to the responsibility of using a mixer.

But, it's also true that some mixers have been seized due to illegal money flow. We definitely don't want to see more of them shutting down, right?

He can use a mixer and choosing a reliable mixer is not too difficult, not all mixers are scams or will disappear.  but I agree with you, who will waste their time monitoring our bitcoin wallets if we don't own hundreds or thousands of BTC?  no one will care about retail investors' wallets like we do.  instead of spending time figuring out how to completely erase the traces with our bitcoin wallets, we should spend time finding solutions to store our bitcoins in the safest place possible.

Nobody would check your wallet if they didn't know about it. Online wallets are quite common these days, but there's a risk of them getting hacked through malware that could steal your key. It's important to be cautious when using online wallets. Personally, I have a few online wallets, each with different accounts, and I understand the risks involved.

To minimize these risks, I use a dedicated computer solely for accessing my wallet. This computer isn't used for my regular activities, like browsing social media or visiting websites I enjoy. I'm aware that there's a risk of being tempted to download applications or click on links that could potentially infect my computer with malware.

As long as you never link your personal information, using Tor and run full node, how someone can able to know if bc1p...x is controlled by you? in 2018 there are 460 million addresses (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/bitcoin-addresses/), that's just like I blindly guess you among every citizen in your country.

If you want an alternative way, you need to adopt Monero since this coin is really private and the blockchain is private. The downside there are many CEX already delist this coin and not good for long term holding.

Holding is a convincing choice to make so many people choose holding rather than trading over time with the amount of bitcoin they own.
People who choose holding need a wallet that is secure to use and uses several different addresses before being stacked together in one address.
Maybe, if I'm not mistaken that there is no connection between the two [security and privacy] than you mean. Regarding the mixer service used to obscure traces, there are also limitations in the number of transactions [large and small].

For me, the first step is to choose the best wallet that is open source and maintain it well, such as making several offline backups.
Second, be careful in public spaces.
Third, Multisign.
Fourth, use other tools to hide the IP address of the device used such as using Tor.
CMIIW

Or can have a paper wallet. just print it and keep it safe somewhere. You can keep sending Bitcoins to this address without even trying to open the wallet and check your balance repeatedly.

You can keep the private key safe, do not enter it anywhere (that is don't import it). It would be untouched, offline, and uncompromised unless and until you expose it to someone or import it to the wallet. This way you can have added security. All you have to take care of is the paper that you printed on. Try not to forget about its fading ink, print more copies if needed but don't store them in one place together.

I think there is no other way you can be safe. Plus, having limited storage methods makes it more uncomplicated and easy to use. The more the way the more user gets confused as well.

I can understand your concerns regarding the traceability issue, especially given the fact that hodling is becoming a common tactic. Utilising "stealth addresses" is one approach to guarantee the privacy of your HODLING wallet. With this technique, you can create a fresh public address for each transaction you get. In this approach, it will be difficult to link the funds to a single wallet even if someone were to look at the blockchain and see that they are going to many addresses.

Now, about mixers: They perform an intermediary role. Users submit their Bitcoins to the mixer, which shuffles them around with other coins and delivers them back, creating a complicated network of transactions.

I prefer to exchange my BTC for other coins, such as LTC, TRX, Doge, or XRP, in an exchange or another wallet. So far, I haven't experienced any problems. But indeed, we have to compare those online exchanges to find the one we want. Luckily, we already have BestChange, which can provide a list of those online exchanges to look at the names and compare them.

I'm not promoting BestChange, but I found a list of online exchanges from the BestChange website.

You can also use Coin Mixer and on this forum, there are several Coin Mixer companies so you have to choose the one you like. But I haven't tried Coin Mixer so I don't really understand it. Forgive me.

Or you can use a wallet that supports purchasing altcoins in the wallet. The scenario is that you can send the BTC to that wallet, exchange the BTC for altcoins or stablecoins, and then send the coins to another wallet or exchange.