With people becoming more and more conscious of their privacy in today’s digital world, anonymous cryptocurrencies are in heavy demand. Those who invest in digital assets want to decide what information others can see and learn about them, particularly where their financial situation and personal life is concerned. Cryptocurrency adoption has increased in the last few years because of the privacy and security they claim to offer. However, it has become apparent that not all cryptocurrencies are as anonymous as people are led to believe.
For instance, Bitcoin has been advertised as anonymous crypto, but it is actually pseudonymous. Just like authors have pen names, Bitcoin gives you anonymity, but if the link is exposed, the transactions become publicly accessible. Hence, anyone will be able to see the balance as well as the history of transactions associated with your address. This has prompted people to look for cryptocurrencies that can offer better anonymity. Do these exist? Indeed, they do and some of the top ones to choose in 2021 are:
This was the first crypto that reached the top in the list of privacy-oriented coins and was introduced in 2014. Today, it has become one of the most sought-after cryptocurrencies and CoinMarketCap ranks it 16 in the list of cryptocurrencies. It not only hides the identities of the users but also conceals the amount involved in a transaction, which makes it untraceable. Only the sender and receiver are aware of the amount and a new combination of addresses is generated by the system for the users after they execute a transaction.
Zcash
Another untraceable cryptocurrency that enhances privacy through a unique approach is called Zcash. Operating on a zk-SNARK protocol, which is also called zero-knowledge proofs, it enables users to prove that they are transmitting correct information to another party without actually sharing the information. However, you should remember that this is not by default and you have to have 4GBs of RAM to use its privacy feature. Otherwise, its ledger is public, similar to that of Bitcoin.
PIVX
One of the best anonymous cryptocurrencies you will find is none other than PIVX, which is the abbreviation for Private Instant Verified Transaction. It is essentially a fork of the Dash blockchain and is open source. Its privacy features are optional and are branded as ‘Shield’. Similar to other privacy coins, a customized zk-SNARK protocol is used here.
All transactions that are shielded are made almost instantly and the data remains invisible, which includes the details of the receiver and sender. This is the first proof-of-stake crypto that implemented the Zercoin protocol, thereby keeping your coin balance hidden and helping it stand out in terms of anonymity and privacy. The history is also kept hidden, so no transactions can be traced.
Komodo
This is Zcash’s fork and it uses Delayed Proof of Work (dPoW), along with zero knowledge of proof protocol in order to provide its users full anonymity as well as an additional layer of security. Thanks to the zero-knowledge proof protocol, all transactions that occur on the Komodo platform, along with the identities of the receiver and sender are kept fully private and remain inaccessible.
Likewise, the amount involved in each transaction also remains hidden. Another important thing to know about Komodo is that all the blocks on its network are signed, which means nothing can be altered or hacked. If anyone wants to tamper with a single transaction on the Komodo system, they would have to modify the entire blockchain network, which is just not possible.
Verge
In CoinMarketCap’s list, Verge is at the 64th spot, but just because it is not popular doesn’t mean that it doesn’t offer anonymity. It ensures transaction privacy through a completely different approach using the Tor software. It hides the IP addresses of the users, along with the transaction location. The software is renowned for its encryption ability. It is also a fork of Zcash and has ensured enhanced privacy through a better zero-knowledge algorithm. It also uses 12P for adding another layer of security and provides complete anonymity to users. With 12P, it is guaranteed that the path used for sending the message will not be used for receiving.
