Want to make Bitcoin more private? Well then you need to be amiliar with existing tech. On this page I have a “who’s who” of software and sites that will be of invaluable benefit not only to users who are looking for more privacy, but also for privacy developers. For each entry I have a description of the software and a brief explanation of how you can use it. Also I am aware a lot of tools have been left out, so please let me know of any that I am missing.
Silent Payments
Silent Payments are static privacy-preserving Bitcoin addresses. It uses a non-standard address format. This is a growing type of address that is supported accross Bitcoin wallets. It’s primary benefit is that only the sender and receiver are aware of the actual Bitcoin addresses used for transmission. Hence the name silent. This is accomplished by using not one address but a collection of addresses, each next to each other in the derivation path, generated from the single silent payment address. A list of wallets that support Silent Payments can be found here. But the most prominent of them is Cake Wallet.
The Lightning Network
Believe it or not, the Lightning Network can be used for privacy-preseving transactions! Many people already know about the Lightning Network, so it will get no introduction here. Lightning Labs is a good website to start using the technology if you don’t. Having said all that though, it only really works well if you run your own Lightning node. This is a very treacherous setup that will beleaguer you with problems unless you have enough bitcoins to open several large channels at once. Also, you must use a client that allows you to run your own node. Then, once you do that, you can pay people using the Lightning Network and avoid blockchain analysis. It works surprisingly well.
Pushtx
Pushtx is a small program that can broadcast your signed Bitcoin transaction by conencting to a series of random nodes. In this way, you no longer have to used centralized transaction broadcasting services, which not only may not work properly but might also log your IP address.
Thorchain
Thorchain is an option for performing private swaps across completely differnet blockchains. It uses its own set of nodes and an itermediate token, RUNE, to provide liquidity in the network and to enable the correct amount of receiving asset to be distributed. Useful when you want to avoid KYC checks. It is open-source and can be used by anyone.
Railgun
Railgun is a smart contract system that allows application developers to build dApps that intereact privately without revealing transaction information to 3rd parties. It is kind of like Monero, but for smart contracts.
