What Are Privacy Coins?

Privacy coins are a cryptocurrency that allows users to remain anonymous while using blockchain. Identity of the user and the source of transactions are protected completely. With these coins, senders and recipients are able to remain anonymous with different levels privacy like hidden wallet addresses or transaction balances. With best privacy coins payments, transactions actually remain confidential.

Is Bitcoin really private?

Privacy coins elevate the anonymity and privacy ethos of Bitcoin to a new level. When you are familiar with privacy coins, you'll see that Bitcoin isn't really so private after all. Many newcomers to cryptocurrency think that Bitcoin transactions are anonymous. They are pseudo-anonymous, however. Bitcoin is a security measure that protects certain data, but not all. Anybody who understands the technical aspects of how Bitcoin transactions work , and also the way that blockchain works is able to trace the transactions.

Privacy-focused Cryptocurrency Projects

There are currently 63 privacy coins that can be traded on the cryptocurrency exchange. The projects have a value of just over $2 billion combined. Although each one of them is sure to provide the most effective approach to privacy as possible, the reality is, five projects dominate.

Monero

Monero is among the most best privacy coins well-known cryptocurrency in the world. Nearly every incident that results in an attack that is headline-grabbing is a crime that involves criminals transferring their profits by converting their funds into Monero tokens. Monero makes transactions unlinkable and impossible to trace using rings signatures as well as stealth addresses. The project conceals both the sender's and recipients' identities. The amount transferred between two users is also hidden using Ring Confidential Transactions. Monero is the most proven and trusted privacy coin on the market in the present, which is the reason why it's the highest-value coin in this category based on market capitalization. The project is currently worth $1.13 billion.

Dash

Dash is in fact a fork from the Bitcoin code. It is a fork of the Bitcoin code, like many other altcoins. The significance behind Dash is quite simple. It's a simple combination of the words cash and digital. Dash was first introduced in January of 2014 and is regarded as the first privacy-focused coin in the history of cryptocurrency. The first-mover advantage it has in this category isn't the sole reason Dash is an investment of $640 million. PrivateSend is the company's anonymization strategy. PrivateSend conceals transactions by combining them and introducing them all to the blockchain in one transaction.

Three transactions might be listed on the blockchain under ADCFGY For instance. It's a string which seems to be a single transaction, in other words.

Zcash

Zcash is believed to employ Zero-Knowledge proof. This cryptographic tool allows users to transact with one another without disclosing their addresses to anyone. Users can hide their address or grant access as they please and gain more control. Other projects don't necessarily provide this feature.

The transactions on the Zcash network are monitored by zk-SNARKS. This stands for Zero-Knowledge Succession non-interactive argument of Knowledge. Blockchains employ the non-interactive method to prove since transactions must be verified by every node on the network. It is almost impossible for all parties to interact on a blockchain that is decentralized and maintain anonymity. Non-interaction is the key.

Verge

Verge is a cryptocurrency for privacy that can be used every all day. The project is open source and based on volunteers. offering a speedy, effective and decentralized method of making direct transactions while keeping your security. Verge makes use of multiple anonymity-centric networks like TOR and I2P. TOR transmits user data to a distributed network that is managed by volunteers. I2P is a secure encryption method before data is transmitted. Transactions are not traceable because the IP addresses of users are hidden.

Bitcoin Private

Bitcoin Private is actually a mix of two distinct projects: Zclassic as well as Bitcoin. It's also a fork from the Zcash code. Like many other tokens that use Bitcoin's name, Bitcoin Private boasts a strong following who like Bitcoin's original code structure, but want to make a specific aspect of its features more efficient. BTCP has zk–SNARKS support for proving transactions. It has a large block size (2MB) and a quicker block time (2 and a half minutes).