- centralized exchanges should be avoided no matter what, for all the reasons I mentioned in OP
- decentralized exchanges are more and more; they started to become also more user friendly
- private wallets are a must, in order to be the owner of your private keys; preferably, users should choose those with open source code
- exchanges between a coin and another one should be made either through peer-to-peer transfers between users or through atomic swaps
- bank accounts should never be associated with crypto
- cash-in / cash-out anonymous crypto ATMs should be also used; they can be found through
www.coinatmradar.com.
By following these easy steps we can maintain our privacy. The important part, though, is
to have users willing to follow these steps and to leave behind all their unhealthy habits (using centralized exchanges, associating bank accounts with crypto accounts, giving personal information to third parties, using custodial wallets or wallets with closed source code etc.).
I really see no harm in following these rules/principles as they are as simple as what you can explain to a 2-year-old. Sometimes, I think users of Bitcoin who know the true definition of privacy are the ones taking another route. I actually see no reason why someone who anticipates privacy would prefer to use more of CEX and neglect DEX.
I think the reason why most investors consider the option of Centralized Exchanges is simply because they believe that's the most easy way to spend their bitcoin because they do not really know or haven't considered better options to spend their bitcoin.
And do you know that such actions can hurt those investors? You see, the government tends to punish a person or group of people based on things they've monitored or can refer to as evidence. By using a CEX, your privacy is certainly not secured, as matters can also arise from that angle while you are still busy facing another.
