Practical Guide: How to Maintain Privacy in the Encryption World?

Author: Vladimir S. | Officer's Notes

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Initially, the birth of cryptocurrency was aimed at pursuing privacy and freedom, but now everything is tracked, linked, and sold. Blockchain is a permanently public ledger, exchanges require identity information (KYC), and analytics companies earn millions in profits by linking your wallet to your real identity.

The good news is that as long as you take conscious measures, you can still maintain a significant level of privacy. You don't have to become an extreme privacy advocate like a “tin foil hat” wearer; just develop some basic habits. Here are some truly effective privacy protection tips for 2025:

1. Stop reusing wallet addresses

Every time you use the same address to receive funds, you are actually making your transaction history public to the world. Therefore, generate a new address each time you use it, or at least generate different addresses for different relationships (for example, one for salary income, one for trading, one for DeFi, and one for entertainment). Nowadays, most quality wallets support the automatic generation of new addresses - make sure you have enabled this feature.

2. Separate your identity like an ex before a breakup, using different wallets for different parts of your life:

• A “public” wallet for connecting to Twitter/Discord (this wallet is expected to be exposed in the end);
• An “important asset” cold wallet, which should never be connected to the internet or decentralized applications (dApp);
• One or two “daily” hot wallets, used for trading or DeFi, only replenishing funds when needed;

Remember, never transfer funds directly on-chain. If you must transfer funds, you can use an exchange with no KYC (no identity verification) or Monero as a bridge.

3. Avoid using KYC exchanges when privacy is needed.

If you have completed KYC (Know Your Customer) at exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc., then this wallet will always be linked to your real name. Only use these exchanges as channels for fiat deposits/withdrawals when there are no other options, and immediately transfer assets to a private wallet after completing the transaction, while ensuring not to transfer assets back to the same address.

A better choice in 2025 is:

• Bisq, Haveno (specifically for Monero), LocalMonero (make sure to use it while you still can);
• NoOnes, Hodl Hodl, Peach Bitcoin (for Bitcoin);
• SimpleSwap, ChangeNOW, FixedFloat (exchange tools without KYC).

4. Use Monero for true privacy transactions

Bitcoin is not private, and neither is Ethereum. But Monero can indeed achieve privacy (through ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT technology). If you need to sever the on-chain link between the sender and the receiver, you can convert your assets to XMR, complete the transaction, and then convert them back. Yes, the fees can sometimes be high, and liquidity is not perfect, but compared to other options, this is still the most effective way.

5. Bitcoin Privacy: Proper Use of CoinJoin

When using Bitcoin, ensure the correct use of CoinJoin technology. For example, use the Wasabi wallet in conjunction with CoinJoin or JoinMarket. Due to the relevant arrests in 2024, the Whirlpool feature of the Samourai wallet has been discontinued, so currently Wasabi is almost the primary tool for Bitcoin privacy protection. It is recommended to perform coin mixing after consolidating UTXOs or purchasing Bitcoin. Don't just do a one-time small mixing operation—multiple rounds are recommended to ensure privacy.

6. Ethereum Privacy: Use Privacy L2 or Mixing Tools (Exercise Caution)

Tornado Cash is still under U.S. sanctions, and there are risks associated with its use in the region. Here are some currently better options:

• Railgun: Supports privacy balances on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, and BSC;
• Aztec: A complete privacy solution on Ethereum L2;
• Nightfall: Polygon's privacy chain, currently still in operation.

If you have extremely high privacy requirements, it is recommended to use a new wallet + VPN for each transaction and destroy the wallet after a round of transactions.

Always use a high-quality VPN or Tor

Your IP address will leak all information. **Never connect your wallet without a VPN. It is recommended to use paid VPN services where you can control the keys, such as Mullvad, IVPN, and Proton. Avoid using free VPNs, and also avoid well-known services that log data (such as Express, Nord, Surfshark, which have been found to have false advertising). If you have very high privacy requirements, you can choose to use Tor with bridges or i2p, but be aware that these methods are very slow for transactions.

Browser usage habits are more important than you think.

• Create a separate browser profile for cryptocurrency operations (or simply use a separate browser);
• Use Brave or Firefox, and install the uBlock Origin and ClearURLs extensions;
• Disable WebRTC feature;
• Never log into Google, Discord, or Twitter in the same browser profile;
• Use temporary containers (recommended Firefox's Multi-Account Containers extension, truly a magic tool).

9. Use hardware wallets and isolation operations as much as possible.

It is recommended to use hardware wallets such as Ledger, Trezor, Keystone, or GridPlus Lattice. Sign transactions offline and never enter your mnemonic phrase on any website. If a website asks you to provide your private key or mnemonic phrase, there is no doubt that this is a scam.

10. Don't show off on social media.

Really, don't show off. Posting screenshots of your portfolio, ENS names, or NFT brag posts, each one is a data point for on-chain analytics companies. For example, when you tweet with a real-name account “Just went all in with 50 ETH to buy $PEPE”, you have already exposed yourself.

Additional Supplement - Emerging Privacy Technologies in 2025:

• Stealth Addresses are coming to the Ethereum mainnet (ERC-5564 and ERC-6538): Start using wallets that support these standards, as they will significantly enhance privacy.
• PayJoin (P2EP) for Bitcoin Payments: It makes on-chain surveillance more difficult even without using CoinJoin.

You don't need to fully follow all the suggestions to achieve privacy protection. Just do a good job of #1（停止重复使用钱包地址）、#2 (separating identity) and #3（避免KYC交易所）和#7 (using VPN or Tor), and you can accomplish 90% of your privacy protection goals.

Remember, “perfection is the enemy of good.” Start from the basics and gradually add more layers of privacy protection as proficiency improves.