Cryptocurrencies are typically pseudonymous, but not necessarily private. Bitcoin (BTC) and other assets run on blockchains, with each transaction posted publicly online. During a transaction between two or more parties, assets move to different wallets, each represented by a string of characters.
With these addresses and transactions visible to all, however, a certain level of trackability exists, especially if a wallet transfers funds to an exchange requiring Know Your Customer verification.
Certain crypto assets, which are often referred to as privacy coins, private coins or anonymous coins, attempt to hide information about transactions, giving users more privacy. Why might someone need privacy if they are not doing anything illegal? It could be preference or a view of privacy as a basic human right could be two reasons. Cash is largely private. Every transaction is not recorded somewhere for all to see with the click of a button.
A number of possible methods exist for adding privacy to Bitcoin, including peer-to-peer trading, although multiple crypto assets focus on privacy more directly via their technology. Some familiar privacy assets in the crypto space include Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), Verge (XVG), Beam and Grin. Dash also makes it on the list, as it allows for added anonymity, although the coin is not technically classified as a privacy asset.
Monero
One of the industry’s most well-known privacy-focused assets, Monero came on the scene about seven years ago, having spurred numerous headlines in the years since. Monero prides itself on decentralization, touting origins that back such stated values. “It was a fair, pre-announced launch of the CryptoNote reference code,” Monero’s website says. “There was no premine or instamine, and no portion of the block reward goes to development.”
Monero, a coin based on its own proof-of-work blockchain, touts multiple different privacy technology features, per its website, including stealth addresses and RingCT. Added to XMR in 2017, “RingCT, short for Ring Confidential Transactions, is how transaction amounts are hidden in Monero,” Moneropedia, the explanatory section of the asset’s site, explains.
Monero piqued the interest of the United States government in the latter part of 2020. The Internal Revenue Service put out a bounty on the asset’s head, promising as much as $625,000 in exchange for cracking the coin’s privacy tech. Two blockchain analytics outfits, Integra FEC and Chainalysis, took home the prize just a few weeks after the IRS announced the bounty.
Zcash
Zcash hails as another popular privacy-focused asset in the crypto space. It started in 2016 and was initiated by the Electric Coin Company, which is headed up by cypherpunk Zooko Wilcox. Zcash stems from the same code as Bitcoin, according to the asset’s website. ZEC operates on its own blockchain with PoW mining consensus, separate from Bitcoin.
ZEC allows both private transfers, called shielded transactions, and public transactions. “Zcash gives you the option of confidential transactions and financial privacy through shielded addresses,” Zcash’s website explains, adding: “Zero-knowledge proofs allow transactions to be verified without revealing the sender, receiver or transaction amount. Selective disclosure features within Zcash allow a user to share some transaction details, for purposes of compliance or audit.”
Dash (sort of)
Dash is another well-known cryptocurrency hosting privacy features. The entity managing the coin’s development, the Dash Core Group, however, clarified on several occasions that Dash is not a privacy asset, although it comes with elective characteristics for added anonymity.
“Dash is a payments cryptocurrency with a strong focus on usability, which includes speed, cost, ease of use and user protection through optional privacy,” the group’s chief marketing officer, Fernando Gutierrez, told Cointelegraph previously.
“Dash is not an…
Read More:What are privacy coins and how do they differ from Bitcoin?
