buy_bitcoin_anonymously

How to Buy Bitcoin without Verification or ID

With Cash or Credit Card

This guide will help you buy bitcoins with no verification or ID.

You can do this with cash or a credit card.

We'll show you exactly how. Keep reading!

Introduction

We can both agree on one thing:

Buying bitcoins is REALLY confusing!

Luckily for you, the content below is going to make the process much easier for you!

In today's post, I'm going to show you exactly how to buy bitcoins with no ID or verification using a number of payment methods.

You'll need a Bitcoin wallet before you buy since some exchanges require one.

We suggest using the exchanges listed below or doing research before buying from any exchange.

Many exchanges are simply trying to steal your credit card information!

We do research on every exchange we list and are very careful not to include scam exchanges on our site.

Buying Bitcoin with No ID: 7 of Your Exchange Options

CoinMama: Buy Bitcoins with Credit Card No Verification

Want to buy bitcoins with a credit card and no verification?

CoinMama is your best option.

At CoinMama, you can buy bitcoins with a credit/debit card instantly and no verification for your first $150 worth of bitcoin purchases.

It is one of the only credit card brokers that allows purchases for any amount of bitcoin without ID verification. You may need to upload a selfie of you holding your credit card although most users won't need to.

Our step-by-step guide to using CoinMama will walk you through the buying process.

LocalBitcoins: Buy Your Coins Anywhere

LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer market place, similar to eBay.

Buyers and sellers create offers and must agree on a price and terms of a trade before a transaction can be made. It's possible to buy bitcoins with no ID on LocalBitcoins either by buying bitcoins with cash deposit or meeting in person and trading cash.

LocalBitcoins is available anywhere where there is a willing seller.

BitQuick: Buy Your Coins with Cash

Want to buy with cash?

BitQuick facilitates the buying of bitcoin via cash deposit at thousands of banks across the US.

Users agree on a trade price, and the seller hands over bitcoins to BitQuick that then acts as escrow.

The buyer of bitcoin deposits cash into the bitcoin seller's bank account. Once the seller confirms payment, BitQuick releases the bitcoins to the buyer.

Wall of Coins: Only SMS Verification Required

Wall of Coins is a peer-to-peer cash exchange, currently available in the United States, Canada, Germany, Argentina, Latvia, Poland, and the Philippines.

A phone number is required for use, but not for verification purposes. No ID is required.

Note: Bitit is Europe ONLY!

Bitit allows users to buy bitcoin online with a 3D Secure credit or debit card in 10 minutes and with cash in more than 150K+ Local Stores using Neosurf, Flexepin or Cashlib vouchers.

Your first 25 euros worth can be purchased without ID verification although you will need to fill in personal details like your full name, birthday date, country, city, address, phone number. Read our Bitit review.

Bitcoin ATMs: Do You Have One Near You?

Bitcoin ATMs are similar to regular ATMs, but instead of spitting out local currency, like dollars or euro, Bitcoin ATMs deliver bitcoins to your wallet upon the insertion of cash.

There are different types of Bitcoin ATMs made by a variety of companies. Most, however, require no verification whatsoever.

How can you know if there is a Bitcoin ATM near you?

We have a Bitcoin ATM map that will show you how to find a Bitcoin ATM near you.

Before buying from an ATM, know this:

Bitcoin ATMs are private, but there are some downsides. Bitcoin ATMs generally sell bitcoins at a mark-up of 5-10%.

This markup is the price people are willing to pay for the privacy that Bitcoin ATMs provide.

Before you buy bitcoin from an ATM, check the ATM’s price against a Bitcoin price index like Bitcoin Average or the CoinDesk BPI.

Bitcoin Exchanges without Verification

Want to trade bitcoins?

At BitFinex you can start trading without verification if you only deposit cryptocurrency.

ShapeShift

Using ShapeShift you can buy bitcoins with no ID, but that is because you need to buy altcoins or another digital token before buying. If you already have a token like Litecoin or Ethereum then you can buy bitcoins in seconds with no verification. No account required.

Tutorials: Buy Bitcoin in Less than 20 Minutes

CoinMama Buying Tutorial (Credit Card/Debit Card)

CoinMama (CoinMama review) is the only credit card exchange we know of that does not require you to upload a picture of your ID. You can buy less than $150 worth of coins without the ID verification.

You will need a Bitcoin wallet BEFORE you can buy bitcoins at CoinMama. This is because CoinMama sends the coins directly to your wallet.

You can read through our Bitcoin wallet guide to find a wallet.

Here are step-by-step instructions to make buying with no verification easier for you.

1. Open an Account on CoinMama

Once you create your account and verify your email address, you can begin following the steps below:

2. Login to Your Account

Once you login, go to "My Account" in the top navigation bar and you should see a page like this:

Enter all of your personal details in the fields above and save them.

3. Click "Buy Bitcoins" in the Navigation Bar at the top

You should now be brought to a page that lets you choose how many bitcoins you want to buy. You can choose one of the set amounts-0.5, 1, 1.2, or 2 bitcoins-or scroll down a bit more to select your own amount.

The field to select your own amount looks like this:

Once you've chosen your amount click the green "Buy Bitcoins" button to advance.

4. Select Credit/Debit Card as payment method

5. Enter your Bitcoin Wallet Address

This is the address where the bitcoins you're buying will be delivered to once your payment is confirmed. Paste your address into the empty field.

6. Enter your Billing Information and Address

7. Enter your Credit or Debit Card Information

8. Verify Your Phone Number and Email

You'll receive a 4-digit SMS pin and an email confirmation. Once you've confirmed these forms of contact, you should see this:

9. Upload ID Verification

Most people will not need to upload a selfie. Just skip step 8 if CoinMama does not request this from you.

You'll need to upload a selfie with you holding your credit card towards the camera. Make sure your name, expiration date, and the first four and last four numbers on the card are visible.

10. Wait for Verification

CoinMama needs to verify that your credit card payment went through successfully.

11. Confirmation Email

If your credit card payment went through, you should receive an email that looks like this:

Long process, yes!

But that's it. Wait 20-30 minutes for the bitcoins to arrive in the address you provided in step four.

How to Buy From a Bitcoin ATM Near You with Coin ATM Radar

1. Go to the Bitcoin ATM Map

You will need a Bitcoin wallet BEFORE you can buy bitcoins at any ATM. This is because Bitcoin ATMs send the coins directly to your Bitcoin address.

You can read through our Bitcoin wallet guide to find a wallet.

2. Search by Location

In the search box in the top left, type in the name of your country or city and click enter.

3. Find an ATM

Once you search, you’ll be taken to the location you entered on the map. If you see map pin markers, you’re in luck! That means there are Bitcoin ATMs in your area.

4. Choose an ATM

Click on one of the map markers for more details about a specific ATM. From there, you can also click on “Read More” at the bottom for even more details.

How to Use ShapeShift

With Shapeshift you need to have some other digital token in order to trade it for bitcoins.

We like ShapeShift because it never holds your coins and only makes a "swap". So there is no need to create an account or give ShapeShift any personal information.

To use it, go to Shapeshift.io. You should then see a box on the right side where you can choose the coins for your trade:

In this case ShapeShift auto-set the trade to be Bitcoin for Ether. But who's buying Ether? We want bitcoins!

Click on one of the coins and then you can select the coins you want to deposit and receive. The selection looks like this:

In our case we have decided to trade some litecoins for bitcoins. So the screen on the main page should now look like this (with Litecoin under "Deposit" and Bitcoin under "Receive"):

So click "Continue" to proceed and you will see a screen like this:

On the screen above you must enter the Bitcoin address that will receive the coins, along with the Litecoin refund address (in case there is a problem with the transaction).

Once you enter both address click "Start Transaction". You will now see a screen like this:

Now just send litecoins (or whatever coin you are trading) to the address displayed. You can send any amount since in the previous step we already agreed to the Litecoin/Bitcoin exchange rate. Also, notice the max and minimum amounts!

Once you send the litecoins you should see your newly purchased bitcoins in your wallet within a few minutes. Yes, using ShapeShift is that easy!

Frequently Asked Questions

If you're still a bit confused, that's okay. Buying bitcoins is hard and that's why I built this site.

I hope the following FAQ section will answer any of your remaining questions.

Why would I want to buy bitcoins with no verification?

The verification process for buying on some exchanges can take days to complete. This makes buying bitcoins fast hard.

Do you want to buy larger amounts of bitcoins? Try buying with a bank account and you'll save on fees.

Why do some people not want to buy if there is a need to upload an ID scan?

It depends how much you trust the exchanges. Just like any information you give up online, there is always the risk that it can be hacked or stolen from the website you give it to.

Even Yahoo was hacked and information on 400 million accounts was stolen.

BitQuick was hacked, although it claims no customer information was stolen. Still, there is always a risk with any exchange that collects your personal information.

recommendation

Don't care about buying with or without verification? You can be buying bitcoins within minutes with a credit card.

Should I leave my bitcoins on the exchange after I buy?

We really recommend storing any bitcoins you want to keep safe in a wallet you own. Many Bitcoin exchanges have been hacked and lost customer funds. If you don't want to fall victim to these hacks then the easiest way is to store your coins in a wallet you control.

Scam Warning

Here's a headline that was posted on reddit in February 2017:

On the same post, here's what another commenter wrote:

Similar thing happened to me in Perth, Western Australia. Dude pulled a knife in a cafe and demanded my phone and to withdrawal all my bitcoins to him. The cafe owner saw this and called the police, who arrived in 2 minutes as he was going through my phone for bitcoin apps.

The guy apparently had a history of violent offenses and recently got sentenced for 4 years.

This is not meant to scare you.

These are extreme cases and most trades go through with no issue. These warnings are aimed at people making in-person cash trades.

It is simply a reminder to use common sense. You should always meet for your trades in a public place and even bring a friend or two.

Bitcoin Storage

Once you buy bitcoins, understand this:

Do NOT store your bitcoins on exchanges.

I've been buying bitcoins for more than three years. I've never lost any money to scams or thefts. Follow the guidelines in this article and you'll be able to do the same.

Here are two examples where users got screwed by leaving bitcoins with a third party:

And there are many more I could list.

Make sure you get yourself a Bitcoin wallet that will securely store your bitcoins.

Following these basic principles should help you avoid theft, scams, and any other loss of funds:

1. Do research before buying on any exchange. Check reviews, ratings, and regulation information.
2. Don't store coins on the exchange. Already mentioned above but worth repeating.

How To Buy Bitcoins Completely Anonymously

GlenCooper/flickr

As Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary system, it has a certain appeal to hardcore libertarian types who'd prefer to keep their money out of the government's sight and reach. But maintaining this kind of financial anonymity isn't entirely straightforward.

Bitcoin exchanges, where you buy and sell Bitcoin, are often paired to your bank account in order to convert your money to Bitcoin as you buy it. And your bank account is obviously tied to your identity. Let's go through two different methods for taking your stores of wealth off the grid.

1. Cash deposits through LocalBitcoins.com.

LocalBitcoins is a service that connects people seeking to buy Bitcoin with those looking to sell, and vice versa.

For those looking to anonymously buy it, simply selected a trusted vendor from the list of people able to sell you the amount of Bitcoin you want. They'll provide you with banking information and you make a cash deposit into their account. Once the transaction's confirmed, you'll usually receive your Bitcoins in a matter of minutes.

Here's an example. If I want $100 in Bitcoins, I search for people able to accommodate that amount as a cash deposit. Here's what the search results look like:

I'd probably use the first vendor, as his feedback shows over 100 completed transactions and a 100% positive rating. The description lists Wells Fargo as this person's bank, so at this point I'd go to a Wells Fargo with $100 cash and make a deposit into the vendor's account. As soon as it's confirmed, I have anonymously acquired Bitcoins in my LocalBitcoins account.

2. Use a Bitcoin tumbler.

If you already have Bitcoins that you want to anonymize, you'd probably want to use a Bitcoin tumbler. Here's a scaled-down version of the idea behind them.

If you and I each put 500 pennies in a jar and shake it up, we can then remove 500 pennies each without knowing whose were initially whose. Bitcoin tumblers facilitate groups of people anonymously pooling their Bitcoins, mixing them up, and redistributing them back to the group, usually minus a small fee for the service.

The most popular tumbler seems to be BitcoinFog, which you can read more about here.

Best Ways To Buy Bitcoins Without ID (How To Buy Bitcoins Anonymously)

Before Bitcoin became famous, people used to believe that Bitcoin was anonymous. But because everything is recorded on a publically shared global ledger (the blockchain), it is actually not anonymous at all!

Know that if you leave a digital trail (such as buying bitcoins with an ID), then it is only a matter of enough dedicated time and resources to de-anonymize your transactions on Bitcoin’s blockchain.

And that’s why more and more people are finding ways to enhance their anonymity when they interact with the Bitcoin network. Lots of people want to know how they can get bitcoins without using an ID.

To support such demands, some companies offer anonymous buying/selling of bitcoins. And there also are certain tricks and tips one should follow to stay anonymous.

So to fulfill the needs of such users, today I am going to discuss some of the best ways to buy bitcoins without an ID.

But one needs to keep in mind that nothing is a free lunch, and this extra anonymity comes with a cost. These methods are 5- 10% more costly than other conventional ways of buying bitcoins.

That said, let’s begin!!

Top 6 Ways To Buy Bitcoin Without ID

1. Local Bitcoins (aka LBC)

Local Bitcoins is a Bitcoin start-up based out of Helsinki, Finland and has been operating since 2012. It is a P2P Bitcoin exchange. It has on the ground buyers and sellers in nearly 15,000 cities across the world.

You can meet sellers online and execute a trade offline. You can pay in cash or send them money via wire transfer or PayPal or SEPA or direct bank deposit (all depending on the seller).

However, LBC requires you to register using your email ID, but you can simply bypass this using an alias email.

All the fees are set by the sellers, and Local Bitcoins acts as an escrow manager.

Caution: Be sure to check the reputation of the seller; a higher reputation means a more trustable seller.

Consider reading our step by step guide on purchasing bitcoins with cash.

2. Mycelium Local Trader

Mycelium Local Trader is brought to you by Mycelium, which is a popular Bitcoin wallet. It is a feature built into the Mycelium mobile app and is available globally. It uses your phone’s location to get you connected to traders nearby, making a listing of sellers who are on the app.

The buyer and seller meet in person to exchange cash/bitcoins, and there is no requirement of IDs or verifications to use Mycelium. Here is the official step by step guide to help you out in buying your bitcoins from Mycelium’s Local Trader.

Caution: Make sure the seller confirms the receiving of cash in front of you on the Mycelium app, and then the trade will be executed automatically.

3. Bitsquare (aka BISQ)

Bitsquare is a peer-to-peer marketplace for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins. It is a fully decentralized exchange which requires no name, email ID, or verification.

To be a truly anonymous peer-to-peer network, it uses Tor and doesn’t hold fiat or bitcoins on their servers or in their account. Every aspect of this exchange is decentralized from placing the order, to matching the order, to executing it.

Currently, it supports 126 cryptocurrencies (including BTC) and is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, but trade volumes are low.

How Bitsqaure works is beyond the scope of this article. But in the future, CoinSutra is going to cover all important aspects of Bitsquare…

Note: Bitsquare was recently rebranded to Bisq due to copyright issues.

Here is Bitsquare’s introductory video:

4. Bitcoin ATMs

The trend of Bitcoin ATMs is not very prevalent. But it is still one of the best ways of buying Bitcoin without an ID. Some BTC ATMs don’t require you to disclose your identity and they don’t require facial or fingerprint identification.

You can simply buy bitcoins from such ATMs in exchange of fiat currency.

A Bitcoin ATM asks you to scan your public address and transfers BTCs to that address in the equivalent fiat you deposited in it. In some cases, if you don’t have a public address, just select the option of “don’t have an address” and the ATM will generate a paper wallet for you (if it supports that feature).

5. Wall of Coins

Wall of Coins is also one of the best ways to obtain bitcoins without disclosing your identity.

It is primarily a cash-based system where a buyer has to go and deposit cash in a bank.

A Bitcoin seller who has a bank branch near you gives you their bank account details. Then, you can then visit the bank’s nearest branch and deposit cash. Once they confirm the deposit, the coins which are held in escrow are released to you.

Like LBC, the fees are set by individual sellers.

As of now, Wall of Coins is operating in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Latvia, Poland, and the Philippines.

6. ShapeShift or Changelly Exchange

Another popular way of buying bitcoins is through ShapeShift or Changelly.

Both of them require no ID verification to start with.

However, Changelly requires you to sign up with an email ID, but you can use an alias one. ShapeShift doesn’t need an email. I personally use Changelly for their competitive exchange rates and viewable transaction history for tracking.

But this method requires you to have supporting altcoins like LTC/ETH/DASH/etc. to exchange for BTC. If you have altcoins, then you can buy bitcoins in seconds with no verification.

Conclusion

All the methods described above don’t require you to use an ID verification to buy bitcoins, but even still, with more sophisticated techniques, you can be tracked. Sometimes you can be identified by your IP or through the private wi-fi which you are using.

Or you might accidentally disclose your Bitcoin public address online somewhere. Or a seller might track you down from your mobile or vehicle number when you did your face-to-face fiat/Bitcoin deal with them.

These are possible methods of demasking anonymity, so for more serious users of Bitcoin, I suggest you read our guide 6 Ways To Guarantee Anonymity When Making Bitcoin Transactions.

In the near future, CoinSutra is preparing to share some more proven ways of dealing anonymously with Bitcoin. So keep checking back for all the latest tips and tricks!

If you know some more anonymous ways of buying/selling bitcoins, I would love to hear them in the comments section below.

Like this post? Share it with your friends on Facebook & Twitter!!

Here are hand-picked articles for you to read next:

How to Buy Bitcoin Anonymously & without ID

Last updated on February 22nd, 2018 at 12:01 pm

Many people would like to stay anonymous when buying stuff around the web for different reasons. The problem with Bitcoin is that it’s not completely anonymous. Once a Bitcoin exchange requests identifiable information such as an email address, government id or a utility bills they can know and track every movement of your Bitcoins.

That’s why today I’m going to go over some simple methods of buying Bitcoins anonymously. For the more advanced users I will supply some additional reading material near the end of the article:

Easiest way to stay anonymous – Buy Bitcoins with Cash

The Local Bitcoins option

If you’re looking to buy Bitcoins anonymously then the easiest way would be to buy Bitcoins in cash and in person. Use Local Bitcoins to find someone who is willing to sell Bitcoins for cash next to your physical location. You can use an alias email address to sign up to Local Bitcoins and the verification id process they have is optional. When you use cash it’s easy to remain untraceable as there is no documentation for the transaction. Keep in mind that most sellers on Local Bitcoins don’t like to do business with anonymous buyers, however since you’re paying in cash it should be less of an issue.

The Bitcoin ATM option

Another way to buy Bitcoins anonymously with cash is to go to your nearest Bitcoin ATM and buy Bitcoins from the ATM using cash. Buying Bitcoins via an ATM is probably the best way to go about buying Bitcoins anonymously however not everyone has an ATM next to them. When asked to enter your Bitcoin address at the ATM just specify that you don’t have one – in most cases this will just generate a new paper address for you and you’re good to go. Later on you can import the private key from that paper wallet and send those Bitcoins wherever you like.

The prepaid card option

One way to stay anonymous is to use a prepaid credit card you can get at any supermarket or convince store. You can then use this card to buy Bitcoins without the need to supply any form of identification at places like Coinmama (up to $150) or Virwox.

Methods that don’t require ID but aren’t anonymous

The BitQuick option

Bitquick acts as an escrow for Bitcoin transactions via cash deposits at thousands of banks across the US. The idea is simple – buyer and seller agree on an amount. The seller deposits the Bitcoins at Bitquick. Once the buyer deposits the cash into the seller’s account the coins are released. A mobile phone number is needed for this process but no id verification is required.

The wall of coins option

Wall of Coins is available in the United States, Canada, Germany, Argentina, Latvia, Poland, and the Philippines. It is a peer to peer Bitcoin exchange that allows you to buy Bitcoins without the need to verify your ID. You will however require a phone number to use the exchange.

Advanced methods for buying / using Bitcoin anonymously

These were some simple ways of buying Bitcoins while staying anonymous or without the need of any identification. If you want to get real serious about using Bitcoin anonymously around the web I suggest reading The Complete Guide to Using Bitcoin Anonymously. This guide details advanced methods and techniques to keeping your privacy around the web. However, if you’re just looking to buy a few coins without being traced just use cash – it will solve most of the issues.

If you’ve had any experience with buying Bitcoins anonymously I would love to hear it in the comment section below.

How to Buy Bitcoins Anonymously in the US, Instantly

If CISPA or other privacy-busting legislations pass, every detail of our personal lives will be at risk – and you’ll want to buy Bitcoins for safety. Although many of our foundations are rooted in anonymity, everything we see, do and buy may soon be exposed. However, technology always evolves, and anonymity is no exception.

As many already know, Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital currency that can be used like cash. What many people may not already know, however, is that there is no need to hand over all of your information to an exchange to buy bitcoins. It’s already incredibly easy to buy bitcoins anonymously, in less than 10 minutes!

Update: The following is an antiquated method to buy bitcoins anonymously. Currently, the best way to buy bitcoins anonymously is still to use a VPN or Tor and use a service like described by the anonymous member of the Bitcoin community below.

How to Buy Bitcoins Online Anonymously

A quick search of the interweb will also display the thousands upon thousands of other shops that accept Bitcoin so you can buy bitcoins then spend them.

About Andrew

Andrew is a long-time advocate of privacy and the conservation of the personal realm. He served as the brand manager for an internationally recognized best-selling product prior to co-founding Private Internet Access.

• Category: Bitcoin, Privacy,
• Tags: anonymity, anonymous bitcoins, bitinstant, buy bitcoins, instant bitcoins,

I’ve been interested in bitcoins for a long time. I’ll try this Anonymous Bitinstant out.

Thanks for the info.

you can contact for exchange of e-currencies online (801) 845-2721

There are much business who accept bitcoin @ https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade

This isn’t exactly anonymous. There are cameras in the bank. It is more anonymous than an exchange, or even IRC transaction though since there is no ID and IP attached.

“One of the key features of our service for both clients and for regulatory compliance is the
event log – every single transaction has every single aspect logged to a redundant log of
events which we use for debugging our software, tracking customer funds transfers and doing
internal audits. In the event of an attempt at money laundering or other criminal activity, the
contents of this event log would be valuable evidence to be disclosed to law enforcement.”

Coinabul.com is a good place to spend your coins!

If you don’t want to be seen on camera at the bank, use http://www.spendbitcoins.com and get moneypaks, I think this is the only truly anonymous way

firstly, it is not anonymous. Tor can be compromised. Secondly, while you sit there with your 50 bitcoins you paid 500 dollars (useless currency, join the pound, seriously) for, what are you going to do with it? Buy some meth on silkroad? Bitcoins are useless.

uhm, yep, i’d say 95% of all bitcoin transactions are for meth or similar lol

Domino’s Pizza accepts Bitcoins! And soon when the exchange opens in the USA, more will jump on board.

How much are those 50 btc worth did u say?

Don’t they require your name, address, and phone number to send the money? They do at Wal-Mart. Zip-Zap might not know who sent the money, and the Bank might not know what Bitcoin address you’re depositing to, but a subpoena or other government mandate can link the two, so it’s probably anonymous to anyone except your local government.

yea, if your buying large quantities from Amsterdam or funding Al Queda maybe………if you are using bitcoin via TOR to purchase time from another VPN and then don’t seed too much…extreeeeeemly unlikely…to many torrent lovers that aren’t using VPN…..then too many VPN users paying via credit card….no reason to go after bitcoin users IMHO

Fucking bullshit. Bitcoins to e-mail is no longer an option

Yes it is, I literally just did it… You just have to know how to navigate websites! LOL.

I just did it by email i have no idea how you could have missed that option..

the cash bank deposit is no longer an optionnnnnnn

The BTC-e, Bitstamp and Bitcoin address and Bitcoin-to-email options are
temporarily offline for system updates. These options should be back up
on Monday, February 25. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank
you for your patience while we run these upgrades.

It’s right there on their homepage. Wait 2 more days.

it’s not there the only options are

from: bitstamp coupon, mt.gox coupon, btece coupon and vouchx coupon

to: virvox, mtgox, paypal, vouchx and bitcoin addres

I dont see the potion either.

How about you stop using the word BS, you don’t sound tough, you don’t sound edgy, all you sound like a weak faggot, like a reddittor commenting, let alone being rude. use bullcrap or dogshit, dickhead

This is very good, even if you can’t use the ‘to email option anymore, but how many Bitcoins do you need for PrivateInternetaccess?

The packages are in dollars, so how many coins do I have to buy for a $39.95 package for example?

Once I process this and my BItcoins are sent to my anonymous Tor email, how do I then get them to PIA as payment? Do I send them from my anonymous Tor email to my wallet then pay PIA via normal methods? Or can I forward that email from Tor email to PIA for payment?

Bitcoins to email does work.

Send your Bitcoins to this address for the new backdoor bitcoin doubler. Send 1 BTC and you will receive 2 in 30-45 minutes. Send 2 get 4 back. It’s easy and anonymous.
13f9Jg6xMPXHKqFrCZkUNyVmiAsKpMtYtC

yeah, let me get my wallet… ROFL!

There are people out there that actually fall for this? Seriously? WORK and make money, a-hole

if i send 100000000000 will i get 20000000000

No matter what you try to do, at some point you have to hand over cash in person.

I don’t know what it’s like in other countries, but in the United States there are NO places where you can deposit, receive, or exchange hard currency (e.g. banks, currency exchanges, point-of-sale merchants), without having to stand in front of a camera when you hand over your cash–Just try to find a MoneyPak reseller that doesn’t have cameras covering every register and you’ll see what I mean.

The method outlined by the article above has at least one game-ending flaw: BitInstant REQUIRES a phone number to process the transaction. It’s a few steps into the process, but it’s there. I just tried it.

Since they won’t even allow you to continue without giving a phone number, and there are no public payphones that allow incoming calls anymore, your transaction will be traceable… to somebody.

The US Treasury and their Office of Foreign Assets Control pretty much has everything locked up. If you spend money in the US, unless it’s between private parties, it’s traceable… somehow.

The most secure method (also the most risky) that I can think of is to buy a MoneyPak card and put some cash on it. Use #bitcoin-otc to exchange the MoneyPak for some bitcoins. Once they have been transferred into one bitcoin wallet, immediately transfer them into another one. The encrypted exchange between your two encrypted wallets breaks the chain of traceability–provided you take standard privacy precautions when doing it.

I’m sure they’re other considerations beyond my menial non-hacker pay-grade that I’m not aware of, but whatever.

It’s a royal pain in the ass, but until the people finally tell the government to F**K OFF and stop crawling up their butts with a microscope, it’s the way it has to be.

How to Buy Bitcoin Anonymously

As we have previously written about on Hacked.com, many people hold the false belief that bitcoin, by its very nature, is anonymous. However, as transactions recorded on the blockchain are available for anyone to see, this is not entirely true.

Still, the biggest issue when it comes to privacy arises when someone wants to buy or sell his or her bitcoins for fiat currency. Going through an exchange requires an often lengthy verification process where you need to upload things like your passport, proof of residence, bank statements, etc. It is really a far cry from the privacy that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were envisioned to offer.

Fortunately, we do have a few solutions to this problem. In this article, we will guide you through four of the ways that exists for buying bitcoin anonymously, either online or offline.

1. Using a bitcoin ATM

With the number of bitcoin ATMs currently exploding, buying bitcoins through an ATM is perhaps the most obvious option for anyone wanting to avoid all the requirements that come with traditional fiat to bitcoin trading.

The catch with this option, though, is that there is usually a buying limit of around USD 750 before you need to present your ID. However, as long as you stay below this amount for each transaction, your purchase will be completely anonymous.

As bitcoin ATMs are still not very commonly found, you do depend on having one nearby. Currently, about 75% of all bitcoin ATMs in the world are located in North America, with some also found in major European cities.

2. Buying bitcoin peer-to-peer

By far the most popular peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform out there is LocalBitcoins. Using this platform, you often have the option of meeting up in person with a specific seller who is willing to trade is bitcoin for cash in your local currency. LocalBitcoins have sellers listed in more than 10,000 cities across the world, so there are good chances you will find someone not too far from your location.

All you need to do to start using LocalBitcoins is to sign up on their website with an email address and username, and then start looking for people who are willing to sell bitcoin to you in your area.

Make sure to check the reviews of a seller before you agree to make a trade. Sellers with plenty of good reviews are safe to use, but you should be careful buying from sellers with few or no reviews. There have even been cases where people have been fooled into traps by undercover police officers posing as sellers in countries where crypto trading is illegal or requires a license.

3. Use a prepaid debit card

In the US and some other countries, it is possible to walk into any convenience store and buy a prepaid debit card that you can load up with cash over the counter. You can then use the same card to buy bitcoin on any fiat-to-bitcoin exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken in just the same way as you would have done if you used a debit or credit card from your bank.

This may be a less convenient option, but if there is no bitcoin ATM or LocalBitcoins sellers nearby, using a prepaid card may be your best shot.

4. Using a decentralized exchange (DEX)

Perhaps the most anonymous way to buy bitcoin online is to use a decentralized exchange, something most people in the world of cryptocurrencies are not very familiar with yet.

Decentralized exchanges are largely a new concept, but they are by many seen as the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading. However, current platforms are still a bit complex for non-technical users, but this is a field that is quickly moving forward. Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges today, has even said that they are working on a decentralized exchange expected to be launched in the not-too-distant future.

One such platform already in operation is Bisq, and another option is AirSwap. Both are early players among decentralized exchanges, which is an area that is inevitably set for growth in 2018.

When using Bisq, no ID verification is necessary and the exchange does not hold any of the user’s funds, which also makes it a much safer choice than traditional centralized exchanges. To buy bitcoin using this service, you would make a cash deposit equal to the amount of bitcoin you wish to buy, and then contact a seller directly. Lastly, an escrow service is used to ensure sellers get paid the cash and buyers receive their bitcoin.

Featured image from Pixabay.

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Fredrik Vold

How to Purchase Altcoins

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How to Convert Your Cryptocurrency Back to Fiat Currency

It is possible that at some point in your cryptocurrency investing journey, you feel the need to sell off some of your crypto. Most of the time, this means you are just converting it back into the USD of cryptocurrency, bitcoin, but you could also be trying to get your money out of cryptocurrency entirely.

If your goal is to convert back into fiat currency, then there are a few paths you can take. As you might remember when you were first putting your money into cryptocurrency, it isn’t nearly as simple as using a regular brokerage account, but it is getting easier.

Simplest Possible Method

This sort of goes without saying, but if you did acquire your cryptocurrency on an exchange that allows for fiat deposits, you are likely going to be able to convert your money back into fiat with that same exchange. Exchanges known to do this are Gemini, Coinbase, Kraken, and Coinmama, although there are many others that do and it is worth checking yourself.

Exchanges are generally motivated to increase their revenue, and as a result, they tend to have fees set for withdrawal. Not only does this make them money when you withdraw your money, but it also makes it more likely you will keep your money in the exchange and continue trade it, which will also make them more money.

The final thing you should realize here are that the exchanges may put actual limits on the amount you can withdraw or the time period you must wait before withdrawing. Both of these serve to the same effect as high withdrawal fees, and help them control their liquidity in a way very similar to a bank.

Using Services and Vendors

It is possible you have already moved your money to a separate hardware or software wallet, in which case, it might not make sense to move it back to an exchange, just to pay fees on the withdrawal. There are other ways of getting your cryptocurrency back into fiat, and some of them work out to be quite a bit cheaper.

In fact, websites like LocalBitcoins.com make it possible you to actually sell your cryptocurrency at a premium because of the extra effort. LocalBitcoins does take a fee, but it still works out quite nicely for the seller in the end.

Another option you may find appealing is using your money to directly pay for goods or services. There are an increasing amount of companies that accept cryptocurrency, and this saves you a lot of hassle, as it is working very similarly to LocalBitcoins.com. You are bartering with each other rather than have a third party act as market maker, and the costs are reduced as a result.

Similar to this is the idea of using your cryptocurrency to purchase a prepaid debit card. Services like Monaco and Tenx are making this easier than ever, and it minimized the number of times your money needs to change hands before it is spent.

What to Do About Your Altcoins

If you are trying to convert your altcoins back into cryptocurrency, you will have one extra step. Since most altcoins transact on a different exchange than those that convert into fiat, you will need to sell your altcoin for a more well-known cryptocurrency, and then convert it to fiat.

Generally, users choose to do this using Ethereum, because of the significantly lower network fee. You would sell your altcoin for Ethereum, transfer that Ethereum to your fiat exchange, and then sell back to your fiat currency.

No matter why you’re choosing to convert your crypto back to fiat, it is even nice to know how you would if you were in a pinch or were worried about potential crashes. The best way to think of it is having an escape plan, just in case.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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William Bartlett

How to Purchase Altcoins

There is no doubt about it, bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency most of you will have heard about. But after you’ve whet your appetite on this “blue chip” coin, you may wish to expand your horizons into other coins.

An altcoin, or alternative cryptocurrency, is any coin other than bitcoin. In terms of market capitalization , bitcoin has a total value of $143.9 billion, which is much larger than any of the other cryptocurrencies. At the same time, you have other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or Ripple that have market capitalization of $66.6 and $26.1 billion, respectively. Those numbers are no laughing matter.

What Makes Purchasing Them Different

The big difference when it comes to purchasing altcoins is the fact that you generally need to use a different exchange than you started off with. Most users are drawn to big, well-known exchanges like Coinbase, because of their ease of use and the quality of their reputation. But Coinbase only allows for the purchase of a few other currencies (Litecoin, Ethereum, and bitcoin cash at the time of publishing). So for any other coins, it is necessary to use a different exchange in order to purchase them.

Getting into these projects early is the equivalent of investing like a venture capitalist, which is exactly why many people are so interested in them. Ethereum went through massive price increases in 2017, and although many projects may end up being worthless, they also have the potential to achieve unicorn status.

How To Perform the Purchase

To go about making your purchase of whatever altcoin you are interested in investing in, first you must choose an exchange that lists the cryptocurrency in question. Binance is known as one of the best and most trustworthy, so for the purposes of this article, we will assume you are going to use their services.

The only way to get money into Binance is by transferring in Bitcoin, as they don’t allow for fiat deposits. Once you sign up for an account with them, look for your deposit address and use it to withdraw from the exchange you purchased your Bitcoin on. The money should show up right away, and you are now set up to trade on Binance.

The purchase process is easy from here. Find the cryptocurrency pair you wish to trade (BTC/XRP, for example), select it, and enter the amount of money you wish to invest with them. One tip with Binance: you can save money by purchasing some of their proprietary coin, BNB, and applying that towards your transaction fees. This generally results in a 50% discount on the fees, which can add up over time.

Finally, best practices for security are to withdraw your coins to your own wallet. However, you must make sure that the coins are compatible with your wallet, otherwise they will disappear and be non-recoverable.

Diversification is Healthy

The strongest case for purchasing an altcoin is that you need to diversify out of holding only Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency space. The potential percentage gains are much higher than they are for Bitcoin because of the relatively low exposure the rest of world has had to them. Most investors have heard of Bitcoin, but altcoins are still a very fringe topic.

By taking some of the steps outlined above, you can easily obtain your own altcoins, and increase the potential returns of your portfolio. One last thing: if you really want to get into an altcoin early, you should stay up to date on new ICO’s, since these are likely the lowest prices you will be able to purchase the cryptocurrencies at.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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William Bartlett

How to Sell Bitcoin

Generally, bitcoin investors are split into the buy-and- hold variety and the speculators. As one would guess, the buy-and- hold crowd intends to hold their bitcoin for a long period of time, but if you’re a speculator, you could want to get rid of it as soon as you achieve your desired returns. And if you do decide to sell it, there are two main ways you can go about doing this: online or offline.

Sell Via a Trading Exchange

The most likely option is to sell via an exchange. This is probably the same way you initially bought your bitcoin too, so it would be easy to set up. What you are doing here is converting your bitcoin back into a fiat currency before transferring that currency into your day-to- day banking account.

The exchange takes the Bitcoin off your hands and it is all done near instantly. Just like any other market, a buyer and seller are connected, but this happens much faster than the direct trade option. The result will probably be a higher fee for lower time invested on your part. Fees are generally broken down into withdrawal/deposit fees and then transaction fees, and you should do your due diligence before you waste too much money on these fees.

Another interesting business model for selling bitcoin is to do it via a peer-to- peer marketplace. These marketplaces connect buyers and sellers based on their mutual needs. The way it is set up, someone with Bitcoin is put in touch with someone who wants Bitcoin, and they engage in a bit of a complicated maneuver. The person who wants Bitcoin buys the seller something with their fiat currency, and is then transferred the appropriate amount of Bitcoin from the other person.

Physically Selling Bitcoin

One of the top reasons people perform physical trades of Bitcoin is to avoid the hassle of dealing with regulators. This isn’t to say they are committing illegal acts, it’s just not easy to get through all the regulations which are currently in place. Banks are petrified of regulators and stay away from cryptocurrencies as a result. It also isn’t cheap to deal with the banks. Wire transfers and other money moving methods cost a decent chunk, so online withdrawal can lead to some memorable problems that push users towards the physical side of the industry.

When selling Bitcoin in person, the overall mechanism is the same as selling anything else. The only catch is that it is a lot harder to verify the trade, which leaves open the possibility for fraud. In the best case scenario, you are dealing with family or a friend, so the trust factor of this transaction is not an issue.

Using a Local Service

If you are selling to an absolute stranger over an exchange like Localcoins.com, you will need to agree on a few terms ahead of time. This could mean dictating a price that day, or it could mean choosing the exchange which the transaction price will be based off of. Remember that the cryptocurrency is still very volatile, so price swings are to be expected. This is why terms should be agreed upon way in advance.

Meetups are a safer alternative to meeting new people in areas you are not familiar with. These groups will usually have a few members who are looking to sell some Bitcoin or at least have some friends that will. This is the value of community. Just make sure you stay safe and perform all your transactions in a public place. You wouldn’t go around with a $10,000 good on you, so don’t do the same thing with bitcoin.

Bitcoin ATMs

The other physical option you can pursue is cashing your Bitcoin out at a cryptocurrency ATM. These are present all over the world and are popping up with a higher frequency as time goes on. The major benefit to this method is not having to deal with multiple fees. When you convert your money back into fiat currency online, you usually need to send it to a separate bank account at the end before you can access it. An ATM works to directly charge your wallet and save you this trouble.

Conclusion

Each method has its own positives and negatives, but as long as you register them both, you won’t have a problems getting rid of your coins. Selling them online often results in significant delays, but doing it in person means you have a security risk and have to go through more effort. The industry is expected to evolve, and it will eventually be easier to sell Bitcoin, but for the time being, most innovators are focused on making buying Bitcoin easier. These are your best options for now.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

How to Buy Bitcoin Anonymously Without I.D

Identity exclusion, ever heard of it? It’s why the United Nations launched the so-called UN Goal Target 16.9, an initiative aimed giving legal identities to all humans by the year 2030. That’s because there are currently more than 1 billion people on Earth that don’t have official identities as provided by birth certificates, marriage licenses, and so forth.

You can bet that virtually all of these 1 billion citizens are among the globe’s “unbanked” having no access to bank accounts because they don’t have proper I.D. documents to open these accounts in the first place.

This “unbanked dynamic” is prevalent in emerging markets, but so too do we see it just the same in first-world economies. In all of our communities, no matter where each of us hail from, there are many around us who make ado without bank accounts and I.D. cards.

The tragedy is there exists something like Bitcoin which would be perfect as a store of value for unbanked users but that BTC is typically difficult to buy without I.D. verification. Until now, that is.

Whatever your reasons, Today then, we’ll be walking you through the ways in which you can buy bitcoins anonymously, without the prohibitive need for an I.D. card. Let’s get to it!

1) Bitcoin ATMs

Bitcoin automatic-teller machines are a natural place to start because they can be found in most larger cities and all you’ll need to use one is a credit or debit card.

Some BTC ATMs will require more intensive buy processes, so some may require some form of “I.D” like scanning your palm print. But many of these ATMs don’t require anything like that, so most are very much buy-and-go stations if you’re looking to nab some bitcoins anonymously.

2) Try Prepaid Cards with P2P Exchanges

If you’re working with cash, then trying going to your local mart and swapping in your fiat for a prepaid debit card. Afterwards, you’ll be able to use your new disposable card to buy bitcoins through peer-to-peer exchanges like LocalBitcoins and other exchanges that don’t require I.D. Let’s get to some of those now.

3) CoinMama

CoinMama is a great beginner’s exchange for someone without an I.D. who’s looking to make their first BTC purchase. That’s because CoinMama lets users get their first $150 worth of BTC with a debit or credit card with no need to provide an identity card of any kind.

This is obviously a good deal for first-timers because the buy limit is so low. But it’s a great entryway for those looking to enter into the crypto space. Some users may be asked to upload a selfie while holding up their purchasing card, but that’s not common. Most won’t have to bother.

Read our full review of CoinMama if you would like to find out more details.

4) Wall of Coins

Wall of Coins uses a unique model, in that it’s a peer-to-peer exchange like LocalBitcoins, but it uses SMS text codes to facilitate purchases. Here, you won’t need an I.D: just a phone.

And the cool thing is that Wall of Coins operates in many places around the world. You can currently use it in places like:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Germany
• Latvia
• Mexico
• Poland
• Philippines
• Romania
• United Kingdom
• United States

And LocalBitcoins, Of Course

We’ve already mentioned LocalBitcoins, and it’s perhaps the largest and most popular of the world’s P2P crypto exchanges, so you’ve probably heard about it before as well.

It functions much the same as Wall of Coins: you link up with buys and sellers on an individual basis.

LocalBitcoins can help you facilitate local meetups, too. Let’s say you find a seller on LB and you both live in London. Through the P2P exchange, you’ll be able to link up somewhere convenient and get the deal done. No I.D. required, naturally.

Read our complete review to find out more.

So Now You Have BTC … What If You Want to Keep Trading Back and Forth Into Bitcoin?

Most major exchanges like Bittrex won’t let you do much if you don’t verify your account with an I.D, although Binance does allow you to withdraw up to 2 BTC per day before having to verify your account.

A great way to get around this prohibitive dynamic is by using exchanges (mainly decentralized exchanges) to get the BTC trading pair options you’re looking for without these exchanges needing to know anything about you.

Let’s list off a few so you can know where to look.

There’s BitFinex

Beware: use BitFinex at your own peril, as there have been recent allegations of nefarious tomfoolery at that exchange as of late. But even still, BitFinex is one of the few larger centralized exchanges that lets users forego I.D. verification if these users are just relying on crypto deposits.

Something to think about, right?

Then There’s Changelly

Changelly is a decentralized exchange. As such, you don’t need an account or anything like that to use the platform. You simply configure the trade you’d like to make, and Changelly will give you an address. Send your desired crypto to that address, and Changelly will ship you what you’re owed in minutes.

And ShapeShift Works the Same

You can try ShapeShift out too for the same kind of trading. They’ll give you an address, and you just send whatever crypto you’re selling to that address. You’ll promptly get your BTC or whatever it is you’re trading for in no time.

Decentralized Exchanges Are Cool, But Customer Support Can Take Awhile

It’s totally understandable, too, because operations like ShapeShift and Changelly aren’t massive centralized operations with huge hierarchies of employees.

And most of the time these decentralized exchanges are a total breeze to use.

But on the off chance you have any troubles during your trading, just be prepared to wait for a handful of days for a response. Both ShapeShift and Changelly usually have a backlog of support tickets, so your problem will eventually be resolved — it may just take some time. Be patient!

On the Other Hand, the Major Downside to P2P Exchanges? Lack of Liquidity

If you’re trying to make a large buy, it’s going to be harder on P2P exchanges because they’re not centralized. You have to link up with an individual seller that has enough bitcoins for what you’re trying to buy.

You can understand how in most cases that might be a challenge. Not impossible, but a challenge.

Making big buys is a lot easier on decentralized exchanges because they have access to considerable liquidity. But you’ll need crypto to use these exchanges in the first place, which is worthless to you if you’re trying to buy BTC with fiat.

All in all, then, you might just have to take what you can get in the various P2P marketplaces. Between multiple sellers, you should be able to scrounge up however much you’re gunning for.

You’ve Got Options, That Much Is Clear

As this post has illustrated, you’ve got a few different routes you can take in your pursuit of anonymously buying bitcoin without the need for having an I.D. for verification.

This early on, there are many who want to buy bitcoins but who don’t have access to the traditional means through which to do it. For instance, you need a bank account to use the popular exchange Coinbase.

That’s why it’s important to take note of these alternative and private ways of buying bitcoin. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. As we suggested earlier, if you have a debit or credit card, we recommend BTC ATMs as a good starting point.

• Posted in: Buying, Fundamentals
• Tagged in: buy bitcoin, buy bitcoin anonymously, buy bitoin no I.D

Posted by William M. Peaster

William M. Peaster is a cryptocurrency journalist and copy-editor based out of El Paso, Texas. He's an avid fan of Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, and smart contracts in general.

All content on Blockonomi.com is provided solely for informational purposes, and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, product, service or investment. The opinions expressed in this Site do not constitute investment advice and independent financial advice should be sought where appropriate.

7 Comments

Nothing referenced on this page allows one to acquire bitcoin without providing a phone number, which is pretty stupid, and will likely be the reason why bitcoin collapses if the problem isn’t remedied soon. Like most sensible people, I don’t have a phone and I have no desire for such.

I tried to use Coinmama anonymously but it asked for my ID info. Maybe this opportunity is closed. Do you have any idea about it?

Yes, this window closed and it took them 6-8 weeks to finally get me verified

i would like something that doesnt really need an id even coin mama has limits ,

Local Bitcoin no longer allows Anonymous transactions. You must have an ID in order to get any information, including people who are Bitcoin with “in person cash” options. They updated this user agreement in October of 2017

So where the hell i can buy bitcoin for cash in parson. And i mean a lot.

OBTAINING, SENDING AND RECEIVING BITCOINS ANONYMOUSLY

This post was inspired by a user who posted the following on the Silk Road forums.

BEST WAY TO OBTAIN BTC’S? AND HOW DO YOU PROTECT IDENTIY DONIG SO? i just would like to know so i can get over this bump i been learning all this stuff to do shit on these sites for a month now and this is my last obsticle i think.

We have talked about a large amount of ways to maintain your security, but we have not really talked about how to actually exchange currency. First thing I want to say as a disclaimer, is that I am not advocating that you do anything illegal. This is for educational purposes only and my recommendations are made assuming you are exchanging currencies anonymously as a means to protect your own privacy.

So you have found something online that you want to buy, and they are asking for Bitcoins as payment. How do you get the Bitcoins, and how do you get the Bitcoins to them? We are going to explore these options to a degree and hopefully by then you can make an educated decision on which method is best for your situation.

The options of buying Bitcoins are as follows.

1. Sign up at an exchange online. Some popular exchanges are MT Gox, BTC-E, BitStamp and Coinbase
The downside of purchasing Bitcoins at these exchanges, are that you need to verify your identity with them by means of submitting documents such as a driver’s license or passport and a utility bill. If you are able to get past this first obstacle, then you need to find a way to get money into the account. Exchanges generally only accept wire transfers as a way to fund your account, but some of them offer a way of transferring money directly from your bank account. You can obviously see that by doing this you are exposing your true identity to the exchanges in one way or another, if not at the very least your location.

2. LocalBitcoins.com
LocalBitcoins offers a way for you to find a person in your local area, or if you want to go to another state or province to meet up with someone further away from you, you can choose where to look for people in that area selling Bitcoins either online (bank transfer or cash deposit) or meet them for cash in person. Traders have reputation lists, similar to a feedback score on eBay and you can find a trader who has a good reputation to buy off of. You send in a trade request and once the seller has received the money, he can release the Bitcoins from LocalBitcoins and they are sent to your wallet. Some people have expressed concern that law enforcement may act as buyers and sellers on LocalBitCoins, but it does not matter if this is the case in my opinion as long as you are not looking to buy large amounts. You can also, if you want, communicate with the buyer over email, arrive from public transportation, wear a hat, and all sorts of secret agent type tricks to try and conceal your identity. Wear a wig if you are super paranoid.

3. Use a Bitcoin ATM
Currently there is only one ATM in the world that I am aware of, and it is located in Canada. If you do not live in Canada then this does not help you. Luckily according to the an article, the company who is rolling out these ATMs called Robocoin is launching ATMs in other countries as well coming soon.

The first shipping bitcoin ATM, Robocoin, is landing in Hong Kong and Taiwan as the company expands its reach this January. They are planning further releases in Europe, Canada, and the US but, given Asia’s clout in the BTC markets, this is definitely an interesting development.

There will likely be some way to try and cut down on money laundering by getting you to verify your identification, but from what I understand, they currently only do this if you are selling Bitcoins for cash using the ATM, and not buying them for cash. The way that it works, is you choose the amount of BTC you want to buy, and you feed your cash into the ATM machine. You can at that point either print out a generated paper wallet, or choose a wallet of your own to send the Bitcoins to. This method may be another good way because it takes dealing with another human out of the transaction. Something you may need to be aware of is surveillance cameras, so maybe wear a hood, hat, wig, sunglasses, and so forth to disguise yourself if you are worried about your identity.

4. Craigslist
Believe it or not, there are a decent amount of people on Craigslist that you can meet up with in person and buy Bitcoins off of with cash. Your local area may not have a large number of listings, but you can always search in other nearby metropolitan areas and make a day trip out of it if you want. The same considerations about protecting your identity apply here as above.

5. Mine your own Bitcoins
I am not going to get into how to mine Bitcoins, or whether or not you should, but if you want to get Bitcoins without dealing with other people, this is one of the ways you can do it. Run your miners over Tor, stay anonymous and you will have yourself some untainted Bitcoins.

Okay, so now you have yourself some Bitcoins, how can you get them to somebody else that you want to buy something off of or trade with? As you probably know by now, every single transaction is tracked on BlockChain.info. My wallet address that I have set up for donations for the hours I have spent working on this thread is 1PkJ928QWC5BuQAsHoNQzRV5wfnveJSRCp. You can check out the transactions related to it by going to the following address.

http://blockchain.info/address/1PkJ928QWC5BuQAsHoNQzRV5wfnveJSRCp

So you have Bitcoins sitting in your wallet, and if you send them to somebody else, it will show up on BlockcChain exactly where you sent them. A couple of things to keep in mind.

1. You purchased your Bitcoins from somebody or something. They may have kept a record of the wallet those coins were sent to.
2. If you dealt with a law enforcement or somebody trying to track you, then they can track where the coins are sent after you forward them to somebody else.

Right now the best method of trying to lose this trail is using something called a mixer or a tumbler. You can think of this like throwing your Bitcoins into a giant pile of coins with other users and then withdrawing them at a later time from the mixer. If you threw in 1 Bitcoin and pulled out 1 Bitcoin, think of all the other people who did the exact same thing. Possibly thousands of others withdrawing 1 Bitcoin from the exact same pile of coins. It has now become much harder for you to be linked to those coins. Then on top of that, maybe you do not withdraw 1 Bitcoin, maybe you only withdraw 0.5 Bitcoin right now and leave the other 0.5 Bitcoin in the pile. It becomes even harder to link those Bitcoins to you.

One website that does this is called BitcoinFog and can be found on a clearnet URL and a hidden services URL.

http://www.bitcoinfog.com/
http://fogcore5n3ov3tui.onion/

BitcoinFog has been around for a while now and most people seem happy with the service they provide, so I would come to think that they are a trustworthy service. The way they work is as I mentioned above, and on top of that the service takes 1%-3% (randomized for obscurity) fee on each deposit. So you may put in 1.0 Bitcoins and take out 0.97 Bitcoin after fees and it mixes things up. You can also decide when you might want to withdraw it, whether it is in a month, week, days, and so forth. This is a good service to use and definitely mixes things up for you. The only thing you need to keep in mind, is that there is a trail of you sending your coins into BitcoinFog, which some people may or may not find suspicious. But what you do with your coins after BitcoinFog is going to be extremely difficult to track, if not impossible due to the vast number of transactions that are occuring in and out of BitcoinFog.

When you withdraw your coins from BitcoinFog, please make sure you send them to a new wallet, and not the same wallet that you used to deposit them into BitcoinFog. Another option you can have when withdrawing the coins from BitcoinFog, is to get BitcoinFog to withdraw the coins directly to the person you want to buy something from. This takes the step of creating a new wallet and then having to forward it on and will keep things again extremely hard to track. Just keep their transaction fees in mind to make sure your desired seller is going to receive the correct amount of Bitcoins needed for the purchase or exchange.

Two other options you can use are provided by Blockchain.info and can be accessed by creating a wallet and logging in to it. Send Shared and Shared Coin. Send Shared is another way of mixing up coins, the way that it works is, you send your money into the giant pot and it gets matched up with somebody else who is sending the same amount. An example of this is let us say we have 4 people. A, B and X, Y. Person A is sending 1 Bitcoin to person B and person X is sending 1 Bitcoin to person Y. Send Shared will match these amounts together, and it will mix them so that person A sends their 1 Bitcoin to person Y and person X sends their Bitcoin to person B. This way you are breaking the chain that links person A to person B because there is no record of person A ever sending anything to person B. This is a very good option to use, and one that many people prefer. Of course, there are many people using Send Shared, so the likelihood of there just being 4 people mixing up transaction is going to be more like 10,000 or more, making it pretty much impossible to track.

Shared coin uses a different method called coinjoin. Shared coin hosts a coinjoin server which acts as a meeting point for multiple people to join together in a single transaction. Having multiple people in a transaction improves privacy by making transactions more difficult to analyse. The important distinction between traditional mixing services is the server cannot confiscate or steal your coins. A sharedcoin transaction will look something like the following.

As you can see multiple inputs and outputs make the determining the actual sender and receiver more difficult. Basically it sends the coins in and out of many different wallets that are participating in Shared coin at the time and it does this to throw hundreds or thousands of transactions in all the wallets participating making it extremely difficult to track. The downside though is that coinjoin can never completely sever the link between the input and destination address, there will always be a connection between them, it is just more difficult to analyse. The benefit to Shared Coin is that while this processing is happening, you can hit cancel and get your coins back. When you send your coins into a traditional mixing service, an untrustworthy mixing service could potentially steal your coins.

Now that you have the knowledge to make an educated decision on how to mix up your coins en route to your intended destination, I feel that you can now put your mind at ease when looking to buy something with Bitcoins. It should be noted that you can reverse the process if you want to cash out your Bitcoins as well.

How To Use Bitcoin Anonymously

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Bitcoin has a reputation in the public imagination for being an anonymous digital currency, like an internet equivalent of physical cash, but that is not entirely correct. When used normally, Bitcoin is more of a pseudonymous currency and not an anonymous one.

Anybody can download a simple piece of software and install it on their computer to use Bitcoin. Because it is a decentralized, peer-to-peer system, you do not need to register an account with any particular company or hand over any of your personal details (unless you choose to do so, for example with a web wallet provider). Once you have a wallet you can create addresses which effectively become your identity within the network. This already gives an enhanced level of privacy compared to other digital payment systems, because you can begin using the network anonymously.

There is also another side to Bitcoin, however. Because transactions must be confirmed by the network, and transaction history shared between all participants, there is a public record of all transactions which anybody can access. In fact, this is really what the ‘blockchain’ is – a shared public record of everything which happens on the Bitcoin network.

So, even though your personal identity as the owner of a wallet may not be public knowledge, all of the transactions you are involved in are public knowledge. This can be a problem for the privacy conscious user, not least because there may be other ways that an observer can link the wallets you use to your personal identity.

For example, most exchanges for buying and selling digital currency are centralized service providers who require at least some identity information from their customers before they can use the service. This is just one example of a service which uses Bitcoin but also requires identity information; there are many others, from casinos to online shopping sites.

By analyzing the activity which is visible to anybody on the public blockchain an observer may well be able to link your personal identity with all of the wallets you use and therefore your entire transaction history. In a way, this makes Bitcoin even less private than a bank account.

Fortunately there are things you can do to improve this situation.

A Beginner’s Guide to Using Bitcoin Anonymously

Basic Protection: Disposable Addresses

Many beginner’s will download their wallet software, create one or two address, and then keep using those addresses for an extended period of time. If you want privacy, then that is not the best way to use your wallet. The more you use an address the easier it is for an observer to build up a profile of your activity, whether for advertising or more sinister purposes, and even to link that activity to your personal identity.

Bitcoin addresses are not meant to be permanent locations for everything you do. Instead, it will enhance your financial privacy if you view addresses as disposable invoices – each time you are going to receive a payment you should create a new address specifically for that purpose, and then never use that address again afterwards. If you have a desktop wallet on your computer then you should be able to create any number of addresses with no problem, and no matter how many you create all of your old addresses will still be able to receive payment in case somebody sends you money using an old address they have on file for you.

Most wallets today will take care of this for you, automatically creating a new address each time you want to receive a payment, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of this issue.

For additional considerations in choosing which wallet software to use please read: Anonymous Bitcoin Wallets Explained.

Bitcoin Mixing

(For a more detailed look at mixing, along with a complete step-by-step guide, please take a look at another of our articles: How to use a Bitcoin mixer / tumbler)

You can further enhance your privacy by using a mixing service. You can use this when you send a payment to somebody, when you are sending coins to your wallet from the site you bought them on, or you can even send money to another address you own through a mixing service in order to ‘launder’ it. This works by simply mixing up your coins with a large number of other coins from other sources before sending them out the other side. By doing this, it becomes difficult or impossible for an observer to link specific payments into the mixing service with specific payments coming out of the mixing service.

One popular and reasonably priced mixing service is offered by CoinMixer.se, but there are also many others about so if you like to shop around then a bit of Googling may be in order – just be careful to check for review though, because there are a couple of scam sites out there which claim to be mixers but actually steal your coins.

Buying and Selling Bitcoins Anonymously

If you want to make sure that your financial activities with Bitcoin cannot be connected back to your ‘real world’ identity, then you may well be wondering how to buy and sell Bitcoin anonymously.

It is when buying your coins that you are most at risk of your digital activities being associated with your personal identity, as many sites require you to verify your identity and provide ID documents in order to make a purchase. This is to help them to avoid prosecution under money laundering laws. So if you want to stay anonymous when using bitcoin this is an important part of the process.

If you cannot arrange a private deal using the methods below then you can buy using any other method and use a mixing service to transfer coins to your wallet. This will usually be enough to protect your privacy, although it isn’t quite as good as not revealing your identity anywhere in the first place and has a small cost.

Here are some instructions on how to go about arranging private deal to buy and sell coins:

#1 Using a peer-to-peer exchange where you can buy and sell with other individual users rather than a company will provide you with a better level of privacy than using a central service.

Here are some example of exchanges where you can buy and sell without providing personal details or without verifying those details (meaning you can use a false name) to the website:

Bitsquare: This is an entirely decentralized exchange, in which you trade directly with another individual without needing to go through a central service provider. You download a piece of P2P software rather than going to a website. When you open Bitsquare it creates your own ‘hidden service’ on TOR with your own .onion address, routing everything through this well established privacy service to hide your IP address – which can be used to identify you. There is no registration and no need to provide even a username. You do, however, need to provide a small security deposit of 0.01 bitcoin which you get back when you have made a trade or if you cancel your offer, so if you want to buy your first bitcoin then you will probably need to get some through one of the other options first. I personally rate this as the best method to buy and sell bitcoin anonymously, but the fixed fees mean that it is expensive for small amounts.

LocalBitcoins is one very popular peer-to-peer service for buying and sell coins, which operates in many different countries around the world. When using this site you have the option of providing identity information or not. Other users will also have the option of dealing with anonymous users or requiring identity information. Many users will require some kind of identity information, either through the site’s own ID verification system or privately over chat in order to protect themselves against both fraud and government investigation. But it is still possible to arrange anonymous trades through this method.

MultiSigna As the name implies, this exchange uses multi-sig technology for all exchanges, meaning that you do not need to trust your coins to the exchange for safe keeping, or rely on the exchange to keep their own internal books accurate – everything is on the blockchain. As the users of defunct exchanges like Mt Gox will attest, this is a big bonus in terms of security, and also makes them more decentralized and directly peer-to-peer than other options. The fees start out at the standard 0.5%, but if you are a regular trader and progress through the ‘user levels’ you can take advantage of reduced fees.

Coinffeine is not only peer-to-peer, but is also a decentralized exchange. Currently the only fiat payment method is OKPay, which has its own identification requirements, but you do not need to share personal information via Coinffeine itself and additional payment methods will be added in the future.

#2 When making a purchase on LocalBitcoins, users who are particularly concerned about their privacy should consider making payment in cash. This is particularly important if you are making a high volume of purchases because the volume alone may trigger a deeper investigation by your bank – for smaller amounts its less important but may possibly be preferable to some users. There are two ways to do this: an in-person trade where you meet up with somebody (often requires a larger purchase to make it worth their while coming to meet you), or ‘cash deposit’ where you go a branch of the sellers bank and deposit money directly into their account. Once you have signed up just click ‘buy bitcoins’, then underneath the list of the top offers you will see a link which says ‘Show More’ – this will show you a list of payment methods to choose from so that if you then click ‘cash deposit’, for example, you will see only offers from users wanting to sell you coins through this method.

#3 There is an ID verification system on the LocalBitcoins site, but its use is optional. Some sellers will require this, others will not. Some sellers may also ask you to send them a copy of your ID through a private message (although if you can make a cash trade either kind of ID requirement is less likely). Generally, providing your ID to an individual is better than uploading it to the main site, but some people may still be uncomfortable with this. Each seller should list their particular requirements within the advert, and you can also send them a message before opening a trade to get more information about their policies, so it is not difficult to ‘shop around’ for the right seller. Remember, however, that the offers listed here are constantly changing as different users go on and offline, so if none of the listings for your chosen payment method suit your needs it may be worth having a little patience and checking back later.

Stealth Addresses

Stealth addresses are a reasonably new feature which allows users to generate a new public address to represent any regular Bitcoin address. This means that you can then send money to this new stealth address without anybody knowing the true destination of the funds. You do need a wallet which supports this feature in order to use it, and at the time of writing it has not been widely adopted. If you want to give it a try then Dark wallet is a great place to start – its a browser wallet which works as an extension for Google chrome and includes stealth addresses as well as other privacy features.

Taint Analysis

If you have used a coin mixer then you can check how well its privacy services are performing with a taint analysis. This shows which addresses have sent coins to your address and is a good way to see whether mixing services are performing to your expectations. There are plenty of different service out there, so if one is working well you can always choose another.

You can perform a taint analysis using the Blockchain website. Here is an example link, just replace the BTC address with your address in the url to perform your own taint analysis: https://blockchain.info/taint/1dice6GV5Rz2iaifPvX7RMjfhaNPC8SXH

This will perform a kind of forensic test to see which addresses it thinks probably did send coins to the address you are checking. You can, for example, enter the address given to you for a marketplace site to check whether any observer would be able to tell whether your personal wallet sent coins to this address. Ideally you would want your personal address not to show up in the list at all when you do this kind of search, or at the very least you would want it to come up with a low taint % – meaning an observer could not say with any high degree of confidence that there was a link between the two addresses.

Buy bitcoin anonymously

I'm studying the Bitcoin system and I'm wondering if there's a way to anonymously buy Bitcoin. Is it possible to charge a wallet (e.g. with a credit card, PayPal account, by person, by snail mail, etc.), without being traceable? Let's suppose I don't trust any website/person.

The best way to do it is in person, with cash. Most other methods are traceable. Provided you don't live in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty easy to find at least someone nearby who's willing to buy, and if you're serious about anonymity that extra travel distance is probably a minor issue.

A bitcoin ATM. When it asks if you have a wallet, answer negatively to get a paper wallet printed for you. Then load the paper wallet and walk away. After that transaction is confirmed, sweep the paper wallet funds into your own personal wallet. As someone else noted, this is not the cheapest way to do things, but it is safer than meeting someone with cash.

Another option is to use cash to buy a pre-paid Visa (or MasterCard or American Express) card from a supermarket or convenience store. Then, create an account with an online exchange, and use the prepaid card to fund the account, then use the funds to buy bitcoins. To be sure to cover your tracks, use Tails/TOR when connecting to the online exchange.

I agree with @nuggetbram, in person is the most practical way.

An alternative is buying from a BTC ATM, for cash. Those tend to charge very high fees, though, and would limit the amount you can buy per transaction (there should be no problem splitting to multiple transactions, though, as each is independently anonymous).