Here are some of the best anonymous crypto wallets for maximum privacy. Let’s check them out and understand the real meaning of crypto anonymity.
Privacy is one of the most sought-after features by any crypto enthusiast.
That’s the core principle of blockchain technology other than the obvious decentralization.
Read about the major limitations of blockchain technology, including the dreaded re-centralization.
And that’s exactly why you’re here.
Best Anonymous Crypto Wallets
Just so you know, by private crypto wallet, I mean one which doesn’t ask for an email address or phone number or anything which can be attached to your personal identity. And obviously, these wallets are self-custodial: the private keys remain with the wallet.
So, let’s start with the top 4 anonymous crypto wallets before bursting the so-called privacy bubble. Stay tuned.
Atomic Wallet
This is one of the most feature-packed choices on this list. Atomic Wallet has a built-in exchange, staking, and support to over 300 coins, making it a top choice for anyone investing in multiple cryptocurrencies.
They also have a native token AWC, Atomic Wallet Coin, which is currently valued at $0.7737.
The atomic wallet has a membership scheme that incentivizes AWC purchases. There are four tiers to it: Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Blue is default with 0.25% cashback if you just go with normal crypto activity without purchasing AWC.
You reach Silver when you buy & hold 300 AWC, which boosts the cashback to 0.5% with a maximum of 200$ per month. This cashback tops at 1% for holding 1000 AWC at the Platinum level.
In addition, Atomic wallet supports staking with an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 23%.
Finally, this is a great choice with clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Electrum
Released under the MIT license in 2011, Electrum is a top-rated and one of the oldest anonymous bitcoin wallets. However, this doesn’t have a flashy UI or support for any other coin other than the mighty Bitcoin.
In addition, there is no integrated exchange. So practically, this is limited to sending and receiving bitcoins in the best possible way HOT way.
HOT wallets stay connected to the internet while COLD or Hardware wallet becomes HOT only while transacting. Still, there are fully air-gapped cold wallets that never connect to the internet; instead, transact through QR codes.
So, Electrum is a serious contender if bitcoin is the only thing you do in the crypto world. Your private keys are encrypted with a password you create at set up. Besides, there is a 12-word seed phrase to recover your fund on any device.
You can enhance the security by creating a watch-only version of your Electrum wallet. This makes sure your private keys remain offline and only activate while sending bitcoin. More about that here in the Electrum documentation.
Electrum can be used on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and has a command-line interface as well.
Conclusively, this tool presents the fastest way of transacting Bitcoin with a decent amount of security features.
Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet is another safe bet for anyone seeking anonymous crypto wallets. This smartphone-only crypto application comes with superior features, thanks to its acquisition by the largest crypto exchange, Binance.
Trust Wallet is a multi-coin wallet with a user-friendly interface and excellent privacy features. This tool opens up the world of DeFi apps with features such as lending/borrowing and native support to staking.
Private keys are stored on your device, and you can set a pin or biometric authentication to quickly access the dashboard once you exit the app.
However, the aspect where Trust Wallet truly shines is the token support, thanks again to its parent company. Finally, if you can let go of the desktop use case, I don’t have many reasons not to recommend this highly rated crypto wallet.
Wasabi
Wasabi joins Electrum for being an open-source, Bitcoin-exclusive wallet.
So what makes Wasabi special and different from Electrum? Quite a few things.
First, Wasabi comes with a CoinJoin Bitcoin mixer. This means your transactions are mixed with others and passed along as a single entry. This makes it difficult to trace individual transactions. It sounds awkward, but this is criminal-certified safe 😲.
Wasabi is so good that the hacker that ripped Liquid exchange of $90 million used the coin mixing feature of Wasabi to siphon off some of the funds.
Additionally, Wasabi sends the transactions via the TOR network, a plus one for privacy paranoids.
However, one major downside that stings Wasabi can be unavailability on smartphones. This is only available for desktop platforms: Windows, Mac & Linux.
And yeah, don’t expect it to be very beginner-friendly. This will take some time to get accustomed to.
But again, this is the best anonymous crypto wallet on this list if sending and receiving bitcoins is the only thing you care about.
Additionally, you can always go for the hardware wallets, which provide even better privacy and security. Some good brands are Ledger, Trezor, SecuX, BitLox, etc.
Let’s move to the privacy aspect now…
(Most) Crypto Transactions Aren’t ANONYMOUS!
That’s the bubble burst.
No matter which anonymous crypto wallet you use, you can be tracked.
Some aspects that can undermine the privacy of crypto transactions are:
Fiat to Crypto Conversion: First and the most common point of failure is if you’re using an exchange to buy crypto with your credit card. Because such transactions have your details and timestamps.
Exposed IP addresses: If you aren’t using a virtual private network, you can get exposed with your IP address. This comes into the picture if you’re on your home network. However, conducting financial transactions on a public network is worse.
And remember, a substandard VPN can also expose your web activity by leaking DNS requests. Conclusively, reputed VPNs can ensure your online activity remains a secret, and they are your best bet for private crypto transactions.
But frankly, even using the best VPN coupled with peer-to-peer crypto purchase isn’t completely foolproof.
There are still some issues that linger regardless.
For instance, your web activity isn’t all that private if you’ve got a logged-in google or facebook account in the same web browser you’re purchasing crypto with. Or the browser itself doesn’t respect user privacy.
So, What’s The Best Way to Buy Crypto Secretly?
Cash. Cash presents utmost privacy, and there are crypto exchanges (Paxful, LocalCryptos, etc.) that convert physical fiat currency into crypto. Just make sure they are available at your location.
Crypto ATMs. This is a top-notch way to get crypto in exchange for cash. But again, check out if you even have such ATMs in your locality. There are multiple ATM maps that you can google for your specific crypto.
Conclusion
Privacy is extremely scarce. That becomes especially true for financial transactions.
Still, a normal person can have a private-enough experience with the tools and tips discussed in this article.
On a side note, don’t forget to check out my how to join the metaverse if you’re remotely interested in virtual worlds.
