Not all crypto wallets are built with privacy and anonymity in mind.
Most crypto wallets ask for personal information such as name, email address and mobile numbers. In the case of a wallet from a cryptocurrency exchange, you will be providing even more information about yourself through their ID verification process.
When choosing the right anonymous cryptocurrency wallet, it is important to take note of the personal information you gave away during registration and the payment method you select, if applicable.
Paying by credit card is the same as revealing yourself entirely.
If you want a quick answer on all four (4) privacy crypto wallets, here is the table you will find helpful.
| Wallet Name | Type of Wallet | Important to note |
|---|---|---|
| Trezor | Hardware wallet | Pay via Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lightning and Litecoin. |
| Ledger | Hardware wallet | Pay via Crypto.com Pay and bitpay. |
| Wasabi | Software wallet | No personal information required |
| Samourai | Software wallet | No personal information required |
Which are the most privacy and anonymous cryptocurrency wallets?
Each of these wallets below does not require any personal identification or need an email address.
Hardware Wallet
Considered the most secure of all cryptocurrency wallets, a hardware wallet is protected with strong encryption and offline by design.
Here are the two (2) notable hardware wallets to consider;
1. Trezor
The Trezor hardware wallet has two (2) versions, the Trezor Model T (latest) and the Trezor One.
Its recovery seed is cross-compatible with many wallet apps,
Wallet Features
- Cold storage
- Supports over 1800+ coins and tokens
- Secure environment for buying and selling
Security
- Fireware verification
- PIN authentication
- Sticker seal on the brand new hardware wallet
- The bootloader is write-protected, and JTAG is disabled
For payment methods, Trezor has Credit Card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lightning and Litecoin. Go for cryptocurrency payment if you want to maintain more anonymity.
2. Ledger
Ledger has two (2) versions, the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X.
The hardware wallet has a certified secure chip called the CC EAL5+, an industry-leading security standard. In addition, the hardware wallet has a secure platform for buying and exchanging over 5,500 coins and tokens.
Since this is a hardware wallet that requires online payment and shipping details, let’s look at the payment methods available.
Avoid using a credit card and Paypal if you want some form of anonymity. Use crypto.com and bitpay. Be wary of the personal information that you furnish to these services.
Ledger will also use your email address as a contact form in events of product releases, updates and announcements. They had stated this clearly in their privacy notice.
Software Wallet
The following two (2) software wallets are developed with privacy in mind and are free to install and use.
Both wallets have coin mixing techniques natively built-in in their application, so users do not have to rely on third-party mixing sites, which can be difficult and dangerous to use.
Coin mixing is the process of obfuscating a transaction by removing any form of data or metadata that can reveal the owner and its transaction.
3. Wasabi
Developed in 2018, Wasabi wallet is an open-source multiplatform desktop application that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. It is a non-custodial and privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet with the coin mixing technique, CoinJoin, implemented inside the wallet.
Security
- Built-in TOR encrypts the client and server connection, masking the user’s IP addresses.
- The wallet uses BIP-158 Client-side block filtering
Wallet Features
- Custom change address
- Anti-wallet fingerprinting
- Dust attack protection
4. Samourai
Developed by a group of privacy activists in 2015, Samourai is open-source software that uses the Whirlpool framework, a fully modular CoinJoin implementation designed to perform fast on mobile devices. In addition, if the user wants, it can work offline as a form of secure cold storage.
According to its official statement, Whirlpool’s implementation can “mathematically disassociate” the ownership of inputs (“sending addresses”) to outputs (“receiving addresses”) that are included in a bitcoin transaction.
Samourai is strictly a Bitcoin-only crypto wallet.
Security
The app is encrypted on the phone using AES-256 encryption. Samourai wallet enforces a BIP 39 passphrase on wallet creation and uses a 5-8 digit PIN code to access your wallet.
Wallet Features
It supports the newer Segregated Witness (SegWit) implementation for more efficient Bitcoin transactions with lower miner fees.
The wallet has a privacy feature called StoneWall that removes transaction meta-data by automatically helping guard against address clustering and other deanonymization attacks. All these efforts are to help to anonymize the wallet user.
Support
Samourai is available on several platforms, including Android, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Conclusion
The table below summaries
