Today, people are extremely more cautious about everything they do, and this is why players in the crypto space have introduced anonymous cryptocurrencies. Investors in digital assets want to choose what information others see and know about them, especially when their personal life or financial situation is concerned.
This explains why millions of people across the globe are constantly looking for anonymous crypto exchanges and platforms where they can buy bitcoins without ID verification.
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Since the introduction of cryptocurrencies more than a decade ago, people have continued to adopt them because of the security and privacy they claimed to offer. With time, however, investors have realized that some of the renowned cryptocurrencies they have treated with high regard are not as anonymous as they think.
Bitcoin, the most popular and the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is actually pseudonymous crypto. Its address has been analogized to a pen name of a book writer.
As long as the link between you and the pen name is not established, your privacy is guaranteed. You can check here how to buy Bitcoin safely.
Nonetheless, if the link is exposed, all your transactions will become publicly accessible. In fact, the bitcoin network uses a public ledger which allows anyone on the blockchain to check the balance as well as the history of any transaction.
Privacy is a thorny issue that has prompted many would-be investors in cryptocurrency to choose alternative investments. As such, many cryptocurrencies are now designed with unique features to address this issue and enhance anonymity.
The only problem is that there are thousands of cryptocurrencies that claim to offer unique features that offer users more private transactions. This makes the search for the most anonymous cryptocurrencies overwhelming, and most investors find themselves making the wrong choices.
To help you make informed decisions below is a detailed list of the best anonymous cryptocurrencies. However, before you go through check out the Tezro app complete list of features, including the anonymity you are looking for.
Best Anonymous Cryptocurrencies in 2023
1. Monero (XMR)
There is a genuine reason why our list starts with Monero. We already mentioned Monero in our article about different kinds of cryptocurrency.
This is among the first altcoins to grow in popularity among all privacy-oriented cryptos. Created in 2014, this cryptocurrency has grown to become one of the most sought-after digital assets and ranks 16th on the CoinMarketCap.
Monero’s privacy is default and does not just hide users’ identities. It also keeps the amount in a transaction private and ensures this cannot be traced back. On the Bitcoin network, any amount transacted is open to the public. On Monero, however, this information can only be accessed by the sender and receiver. The system automatically generates a new combination of addresses on behalf of users for every transaction executed.
The complex nature of Monero’s transactions is beneficial as far as data security is concerned, but it doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges. It increases the transaction size, hence increasing the time needed for a single transaction to be completed. However, if your main concern is privacy, then this downside should not be an issue.
2. Zcash (ZEC)
Zcash is another untraceable cryptocurrency that uses a unique approach to enhance privacy. It runs on a zk-SNARK protocol, also referred to as zero-knowledge proofs. This protocol allows users to prove that the information they are transmitting to another party is correct without having to display the actual information.
It’s worth mentioning that this protocol has not been implemented as default, meaning this cryptocurrency still has an open ledger/blockchain, just like Bitcoin. To use Zcash’s privacy feature, users must have at least 4GB of RAM until the transaction is sent. This is one of the barriers that have hindered the mass adoption of this cryptocurrency. Nonetheless, research and active development are underway to enhance the feasibility of this system.
3. PIVX (PVX)
PIVX is one of the best anonymous cryptocurrencies, which stands for Private Instant Verified Transaction. It is a folk of the DASH blockchain. This crypto is open source and has optional privacy features that it brands as “Shield.”
Just like other privacy coins such as Zcash, PIVX utilizes a customized zk-SNARK protocol. All shielded transactions are near-instant – and the data, including the details of the sender and the receiver, are invisible.
PIVX is hailed as the first proof-of-stake crypto to implement the Zercoin protocol that ensures your coin balance is hidden, and this makes it stand out in terms of privacy and anonymity compared to other POS coins.
The source and receiver addresses are hidden, and this ensures their privacy is protected. Once a transaction is complete, its history is well concealed, and no one can trace funds back to their address.
4. Komodo (KMD)
Komodo is a fork of Zcash. It utilizes zero knowledge of proof along with the novel Delayed Proof of Work (dPoW) protocol to provide users with an extra layer of security as well as full anonymity.
The zero-knowledge proof ensures that all transactions within the Komodo platform, as well as the identities of the source and the receiver, are fully private and cannot be accessed by anyone.
Also, this protocol keeps the amount in every transaction private, and only parties involved in it have access. The dPoW adds another layer of data security since it has the ability to recycle the Bitcoin hash rate, thus rendering it unchangeable.
Komodo has signed all its blocks on the blockchain network. This makes it nearly impossible for anyone, including investigative agencies and hackers, to hack or alter anything. To tamper with a single historic transaction on the Komodo system, one has to modify the blockchain network, and this is practically impossible.
5. StealthEX (XST)
Privacy coins protect the data of users while making transactions, but there is another important layer – exchanges. Most custodial exchanges require disclosing wallet addresses, and personal information of the user, and storing the data (and funds) on the platform.
To ensure privacy, you can turn to StealthEX – a non-custodial, private cryptocurrency exchange supporting all the assets mentioned above. The platform does not require KYC and registration to swap the assets and currently supports over 450 cryptocurrencies for swaps and fiat purchases.
6. Verge (XVG)
Verge holds the 64th position in the CoinMarketCap. It might not be popular, but it has found itself on our list because of the level of anonymity that comes with it. It uses a completely different approach to transaction privacy by using the Tor software to hide transaction location and users’ IP addresses. This software is renowned for its ability to encrypt a message in several layers. This automatically changes a user’s IP address and makes it hard to trace transactions.
This cryptocurrency has forked out from Zcash and implemented a better zero-knowledge-proof algorithm for enhanced privacy.
Additionally, it uses 12P to add an extra layer of security and ensure total anonymity of all users and their funds. 12P guarantees that the path in which a message was sent is not the same one it will be received.
7. ZCoin
ZCoin is anonymous crypto based on the zerocoin protocol. This is a one-of-a-kind ‘mint, spend, and repeat system that enables users to turn coins on the public ledger into private coins through ‘minting.’
The spending of this crypto doesn’t reveal the identity of the minted coin owner; thereby permitting an anonymous transaction.
This coin also ensures cryptocurrency anonymity through other features such as the implementation of the Merkle Tree Proof (MTP) algorithm that addresses the security centralization issue that major players in the crypto sphere such as Bitcoin are grappling with.
It is made possible by Egalitarian Computing, which prevents miners from getting a competitive edge over the rest of the community.
The only problem most critics find with ZCoin is its ‘trusted setup’ that was created at the start of the project. This setup is like allowing a particular group of people to set the initial parameters for the cryptocurrency’s launch.
If this setup is corrupted, some quotas believe that some trusted individuals may be able to mint as many coins as they wish without much effort. Work is in progress to remove this setup in the near future.
8. GRIN
Launched in 2019, GRIN is a fairly new anonymous crypto. It stands out as one of the few coins whose privacy feature is default.
Therefore, users don’t have to activate anything to ensure their identities are protected and transactions cannot be traced back to their addresses.
This coin uses MimbleWimble to protect transaction data. This is a protocol that allows the network to remove transaction data without compromising the stability or security of its blockchain.
9. NAVcoin (NAV)
Developed in 2014, NAVcoin is, without a doubt, one of the most undervalued anonymous cryptocurrencies in the crypto world. Despite the fact that it is not as popular as other coins that enhance cryptocurrency anonymity like Monero and Zcash, NAVcoin has stood the test of time and is slowly gaining traction.
The reason why it features on our list is that it takes a unique and simple approach to anonymity, although we cannot ignore the fact that it faces several centralization issues.
Unlike other coins of its caliber, NAV coin doesn’t rely on cryptography to become private. Rather, it uses complicated obfuscation strategies with a sub-blockchain to enhance privacy. This obfuscation is achieved via NAVTech servers, which are secondary sub-chain that allow the anonymization and mixing of transactions.
Compared to Bitcoin, NAVcoin’s transactions are cheaper and much faster. There are efforts by its development team to implement smart contracts to the NAVcoin network in the near future. This will allow direct coding of anonymous dAPPs onto its blockchain.
10. Zencash (ZEN)
Zencash is an untraceable cryptocurrency that was created as a hard fork from Zclassic. Just like other coins before it, it focuses on transactional anonymity and privacy. Nonetheless, it claims to represent what is called the “evolved form of zk-SNARK technology.”
One of the features that make Zencash stand out from the crowd is a communication protocol referred to as Zentalk that ensures data within the network is encrypted and can only be accessed by parties involved in a transaction.
Additionally, it has other systems that boost anonymity, including Zenpub, an anonymous document publishing platform, and ZenHide, a domain fronting method that may circumvent the banning of crypto usage by hostile regulators.
Zencash is widely known as the first cryptocurrency to be built on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) – a protocol that ensures the security of data packets sent between server/client applications.
11. DASH (DASH)
DASH is arguably one of the most trailblazing and popular cryptos of all time. We mentioned DASH in our piece about how cryptocurrency works.
It defines itself as one of the most anonymous cryptos, even though critics argue that it is not as private as it claims. Its privacy feature is a simple coin-mixing service that is performed by its master nodes and is known as Privatesend.
This feature obscures the origins of funds and allows those who want to stay within their countries’ regulatory standards to do so. Note that the private send option is not default on the DASH network, and transaction fees will rise slightly when you activate it.
Some sources reveal that this privacy feature provides analyzable Metadata that can help trace back transactions to their addresses. Also, there are those who argue that DASH’s development team publicly implemented KYC/AML compliance of the DASH blockchain. This is contradictory to what anonymity and privacy mean.
12. Beam
Beam is an incredible private coin that has garnered a great deal of attention from the markets over the past few years. Just like GRIN, Beam is a MimbleWimble-based cryptocurrency that is not only privacy-focused but also extremely scalable. It provides what other cryptocurrencies are struggling to deliver, and this is why it is rapidly becoming a highly sought-after digital currency.
Rigid privacy controls are at the helm of the list of Beam’s features. Unlike most anonymous cryptocurrencies where users have to manually activate privacy functions, every transaction in Beam is private by default.
This simply means that users have the right to determine which information is made publicly available and have complete control over their data.
The untraceable cryptocurrency has also introduced the concept of confidential assets and transactions as one of its added privacy value features.
With this feature you are allowed to create new digital asset types, including real estate assets, new currencies, and debt instruments which can be exchanged securely and privately over the Beam network.
Beam also has a lean and compact blockchain that enhances scalability. The MimbleWimble protocol prunes old data that is irrelevant to current transaction processing needs, hence preventing transaction bloating.
13. Utopia Stable Coin (UUSD)
Utopia was released officially in November of 2019 as a peer-to-peer ecosystem. In August 2022, they launched their completely untraceable stablecoin Utopia USD (UUSD).
It’s built from Utopia’s serverless blockchain, which incorporates an all-in-one kit with instant messaging service, encrypted e-mail, voice communication and private web browsing.
So, you can be sure because, even though they launched recently, they have been building the foundation for a successful stablecoin for a long time.
Similar to the other Utopia currency, Crypton, Utopia USD allows anonymous transactions by default. It also abstains from revealing any personal information to its own blockchain, deleting the history from the exchanges completely.Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin guarantees your privacy, but if the link is exposed your transactions are also exposed;
- There are other several cryptocurrencies out there who guarantee safety and privacy;
- The most popular anonymous cryptocurrencies right now are Monero and DASH.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a list of some of the best anonymous cryptocurrencies, you are probably wondering which coin you should add to your portfolio. Well, honestly, there is no crypto outlined in this article that is better than the other. Your choice could be informed by an array of factors, including how much faith you have in the creators of the coin and your use case.
Note that the protocols that these coins run on are in constant development; hence those you feel like they are missing the mark might be rolling amazing privacy improvements soon.
Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to invest in more than one coin. Invest in as many as you can, and make sure you store them in safe and reliable wallets such as Tezro. Download the app now and navigate and trade with 100% privacy guaranteed.
