You'll probably agree with me that the amount of information on cryptocurrency and how it relate to so many different areas of expertise is impressive and makes it different than any other thing.
(from opsec and anonymity to programming and yes… gaming)
Crypto is a roller coaster.
Like a creature that exists by itself.
If there’s one thing everybody should be concerned, while we’re creating the new paradigms of money and writing history it’s privacy
Apart from the traditional recommendations of using a VPN, always devaluing yourself as a target, using Tor and auditing your own system to figure out where are the security breaches and how it could be broken, in this article I’ll explore 3 useful ways of securing your finances on this new roller coaster world.
1. Never reuse addresses.
Using VPNs and Tor will not be effective if you have a main address for bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) and always reuse it.
A good practice is to generate a new address for all the different payments you may receive.
That way you avoid people checking your financial history and knowing what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been moving your crypto around.
This may be easier for some projects than others (and it’s quite easy for bitcoin) but keep in mind that it’s a must for having a better system.
As you may know, the blockchain never forgets and all the information regarding all transactions ever done on bitcoin or ethereum are acessible with some clicks on blockcypher or etherscan.
Also remember to audit all the addresses you posted on social media or linked to your profile somehow, should you keep reusing them? Are you comfortable with having your finances (or part of it) shown in public?
These are some of the questions to be asking yourself.
2. Use a mixer.
In case you want to go more anon, there are mixer services available for bitcoin (like Chipmixer or smartmixer) and ethereum (like tornado.cash ) that can mix your coins with many other and anonymize your financial crypto data.
This happens in different ways.
Chipmixer for example use a “chips” system to make your transactions anon and impossible to track.
Tornado.cash works in a different way, where you send your ethereum to a smart contract and it stays there until you ask it to be sent somewhere else.
Though they don’t have ethereum in hand, your transaction is mixed with other users ethers and there are some good practices you should keep in mind to have success on mixing it well and making it really untraceable.
Of course that if your goal is just low-level anonimity and not going full anon you could just send your bitcoins or ethers to an exchange and them to another wallet, but this still incurs in a point of failure where the exchange has your data.
Would you trust your financials to the exchange?
are you confortable
To learn more about the best practices of security when using a mixer this article is a great starter-point.
3. Choose a really private cryptocurrency.
Why not saving yourself from the headaches of complicated solutions like using mixers and going straight to a better option?
The best way to really enhance your privacy is using a private cryptocurrency
Pirate chain (ARRR) is an independent blockchain built on Komodo which does private transactions and has a supply of only 40 million (to be reach in 2043 or after).
The block time is only 60 seconds and it suports the TOR network.
As you may know, many cryptocurrencies use a halvening system
so they become more scarce with time.
With Pirate is no different and the block reward halves every 388885 blocks.
which is almost every 9 months
270.05 days to be more exact.
and the next halving is coming soon, on the 28th of February.
Ready to sail?
Keep in mind that ARRR is not a project for contracts, it's a z tax only chain.
And different than other projects they do not do transparent transactions: only private ones.
You will find way more information about them on their bitcointalk thread and their official website.
Their Block Explorer is also easy to find (don’t search for a rich list, you won’t find it).
Overall, security is up to the way it's structered. Decentralization is the key for crypto to evolve. Take a look at Blocknet and it's DEX.
You hold your private keys at all times while trading, so you'll be safe, compared to risking your money on a centralized exchange who could exit scam at any moment.