Privacy
security · principle
The ability to transact without revealing sensitive information about identity, balances, or counterparties.
Privacy in cryptocurrency blends technical measures and good practices: avoiding address reuse, using wallets with coin control, and preferring protocols that minimize metadata leakage.
Chain analysis, reused addresses, and KYC’d endpoints can deanonymize flows. Mitigations include mixing, avoiding centralized re-tagging, and using non-custodial tools.
Related terms
CoinJoin
→A privacy technique that combines multiple users’ inputs and outputs in a single transaction.
privacy · technology
JoinMarket
→A non-custodial CoinJoin system for Bitcoin where makers and takers collaborate to improve transaction privacy.
privacy · wallet
Hash Time-Locked Contract (HTLC)
→A conditional payment that can be claimed with a secret before a deadline or refunded after the deadline.
smart-contract · payments · cryptography
Privacy Coin
→A cryptocurrency designed to reduce public visibility of transaction participants, amounts, or balances.
privacy · cryptocurrency