How do Coin mixers work and should you use them?

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A blockchain is a public ledger that provides information on all parties and all transactions that have ever been executed since the genesis block. This means all transactions can be publicly viewed and verified. This is one of the key features of a blockchain. Having a public ledger means transactions are not private and can be traced on the blockchain. Anybody with a Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other blockchain transaction id can trace the origin of a transaction to the destination wallet. That's where coin mixers also known as coin tumblers wallets come to play.

Who uses coin tumblers and anonymous wallets and how do they work?

Coin Tumblers function by using an algorithm that facilitates obscuring the history of the cryptocurrencies making it untraceable by delaying the transaction time, dividing the tokens into small amounts and sending them to multiple wallets known as mixing addresses owned by the tumbling service. Once the coinS have been “mixed” the “clean” coins are then sent to an address of the customers choice.

Coin tumblers are mostly used by:

1. cryptocurrency enthusiasts who believe that the true meaning of cryptocurrency is anonymity and privacy.
2. Individuals who own large amounts of cryptocurrencies and would like to avoid being a target of hackers and authoritative regimes.
3. Hackers and criminals who do not want to be traced by law enforcement.

Examples of these services include coinmixer.se, Helix and bitcoin blender. some of these services are only available on the dark web and require Tor browser to be accessed.

One of the greatest disadvantages of using coin mixers is that the customer has to send the coins to the mixing company which charges a fee ranging from 1–3% of the coins to be mixed, this gives the mixing service a great control of the coins and there is a high risk of the customer losing all the coins.

If you don't own your private keys, you don't own your coins

Alternatives to coin mixers

some of the alternatives to coin mixers which give the owner total control of their coins include:

Wallets

wallets with a high degree of anonymity like electrum wallet. offer a safe alternative to coin mixers.

Privacy coins

Lastly, Privacy coins like Dash, Monero, and Zcash offer high degrees of anonymity and are safer compared to coin mixers.

Disclaimer: None of the information you read on this article should be taken as investment advice, nor do I endorse any project that may be mentioned or linked to in this article. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Always follow the law under your jurisdiction when trading cryptocurrencies. Finally, I do not take any responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.