If you’re building a dedicated rig for crypto, skip the standard VPNs, they’re still a central point of failure. The gold standard I’ve seen work is running Tails OS from a USB stick on a laptop with the battery and Wi-Fi card physically removed, using only an Ethernet connection through a Whonix gateway. Setting up your own VPS can actually backfire because the server is tied to your payment method, creating a paper trail. For the browser, stick to Tor, but never maximize the window or you’ll leak your screen resolution fingerprint. Honestly, the biggest hurdle isn't the IP; it's the "human" metadata, avoiding reuse of usernames and never logging into any personal accounts on that machine is where most people slip up.
Great input, thank you so much.
Regarding the paper trail, would you recommend keeping the Wi-Fi card installed but only using the laptop on public Wi-Fi, so it cannot easily be connected to my identity? Or would using Ethernet still be the better option?
Also, if I may ask, what would be a good laptop for running Tails OS?
