If you’ve ever transacted online then you know that it’s virtually impossible to keep your activity completely anonymous and private. A lot of people thought Bitcoin would be an exception but now they know that it’s no different.
Bitcoin transactions are published in a public ledger known as the Blockchain. This makes it a pseudonymous currency because anyone can trace those transactions back to their individual wallets.
People can also track you down through numerous other ways online. The long and short is that people are starting to look for creative ways to make anonymous Bitcoin transactions. In this post, we’re going to share some of these methods with you.
1. Use the Tor Browser
If you want a way to anonymously connect to the Bitcoin network, Tor is the answer. It’s developed by volunteers who strive to bring better anonymity and privacy to the World Wide Web. Brave Browser is a fancier version of Tor. It’s available for free and comes with built-in Tor.
2. Mix Your Bitcoins
As mentioned above, all Bitcoin transactions are logged on a public ledger known as Blockchain. This makes it easy for pretty much anyone to trace each transaction to its origins. Bitcoin mixing is one way to avoid this process and privatize your Bitcoin.
That’s because Bitcoin mixing reduces traceability by breaking up the connection that brings together different Bitcoin addresses. It does this by generating a temporary address for each user so as to create a never-ending trail that’s impossible to trace back to its origins.
Bitcoin mixing or Bitcoin tumbling, Bitcoin washing, Bitcoin laundering is actually a service that you have to pay for.
3. Create a New Address for Each Transaction
Most Bitcoin owners use HD wallets because they allow you to use a new address whenever you send and receive Bitcoins and you can actually transact from anywhere. Granted, it can be confusing to use, especially if you’re a newbie to the cryptocurrency space.
But, HD wallets are great for anonymous Bitcoin transactions. Some of the most reliable options that we recommend include Trezor, Samourai wallet, and Ledger Nano X.
4. Install a High-End VPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it’s basically a system that allows you to transact online without storing your browsing history. With a VPN, your traffic goes through an encrypted connection which is then routed through as many servers as you like. This makes it virtually impossible to track your location.
As a log-less network, most VPNs will go as far as to clump different users into one IP address as to make it doubly difficult to trace their identity. That’s why using a VPN like IPVanish is a great way to do anonymous Bitcoin transactions and we recommend this one particularly because it ticks all the right boxes.
5. Buy and Sell Bitcoin with Cash
Conducting face-to-face transactions is by far the simplest way of making anonymous Bitcoin transactions. LocalBitcoins and similar Escrow services are the ones that facilitate this process.
Here’s how to get the most out of using LocalBitcoins:
- Always use Tor or a VPN when accessing LocalBitcoins
- Use a fake name and a burner email address when registering at LocalBitcoins.
- Look for a reliable buyer or seller when doing cash trades. You’ll know you’ve found one when they have a good reputation and lots of positive feedback.
- Always use a burner phone or a public phone when organizing the trade-off meeting.
- Always meet in a public space, preferably somewhere with free Wi-Fi access
- Get to the location, make the transaction and wait for at least 2 to 3 confirmations
- Never use your actual car when commuting to the meeting spot as anyone can trace it back to you.
The above-mentioned steps are a great way to maintain anonymity when trading Bitcoins for cash.
6. Use JoinMarket
Another way to do anonymous Bitcoin transactions is to use JoinMarket. As the name implies, this is a market where members can make CoinJoin transactions. This means you can literally jumble up your coins with that of numerous other users though an arrangement that’s predetermined by JoinMarket.
If you enter the market as a “taker” then you’ll be required to pay a small fee, while makers are there to facilitate the process by making their coins available for mixing. Moreover, CoinJoin allows you to mix your coins without the use of centralized authority or Escrow.
Let us know in the comments below how you make anonymous Bitcoin transactions!
