Five Ways to Preserve Confidentiality of Investments in Bitcoin

In most countries of the world, people are allowed to buy and sell Bitcoins and other crypto-currencies for profit from investments. However, as we have seen in countries such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nepal, the sudden prohibition of Bitcoin may be around the corner and very quickly become a problem for active traders. This in itself gives sufficient grounds for the crypto-investors to pay more attention to confidentiality and anonymity when trading and making transactions with cryptocurrencies.

In addition, many cryptoanarchists, cyberpunks and Bitcoiners-libertarians prefer not to share their investment income from the cryptocurrency with the tax authorities for idealistic reasons.Regardless of whether you want to keep your trading activity in Bitcoin confidential for idealistic or political reasons, there are several measures that can help reduce the risk of disclosure of your investments in Bitcoin.

Anonymous purchase Bitcoin

There are two main ways of anonymous acquisition of Bitcoin.

Firstly, you can use cryptomates and make purchases within the amount that does not require verification. This amount is usually about 750 dollars. However, it is worth noting that in most crypts, the purchase price is too high to seriously consider this option.

Secondly, you can use the anonymous Tor browser and buy Bitcoin on platforms such as Wall of Coins, where only the phone number for verification and no personal information is required. Alternatively, you can use the services of decentralized P2P-exchanges, which do not require any verification of the identity for the transaction.

Use anonymous Bitcoin wallets

While some Bitcoin wallets, such as Coinbase, require you to verify the identity, and a mobile wallet can tie to your phone number, most of the local wallets correspond to the original idea of Bitcoin regarding confidentiality and financial sovereignty.

For example, the original full purse Bitcoin Core does not require any personal information from you. Another option is the Samourai wallet, which allows you to hide the source of funds, as well as providing the ability to connect to your own site, both through the VPN and through Tor.

One of the best anonymous wallets for Altcoins is Jaxx. Jaxx is a mobile wallet that supports Bitcoin and several Altcoins, and has a full equivalent. In spite of this, it is recommended to use only the mobile version, since security issues relate mainly to the full version.

In addition, you can store your cryptocurrency in the hardware purse. In fact, this is one of the safest ways to store crypto currency. Therefore, the purchase of Ledger Nano S, the Trezor wallet or any other popular hardware wallet is highly recommended for those who want to securely and privately store their Bitcoins or Altcoins. Just do not buy a used Wallet - it's safer to order it directly from the manufacturer, even if it comes out more expensive.

Trade on Decentralized Exchanges

For active traders, decentralized exchanges are the way forward if you cherish transactional privacy. Decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinffeine and Bisq do not require users to verify their identity and are thus the more private option for buying and selling Bitcoin. Mycelium's mobile wallet can also be used to access a peer-to-peer marketplace where you can buy and sell for cash. It may also be worth finding someone on LocalBitcoins; Ethereum and Monero even have their own versions for ETH and XMR trades.

If you want to trade in ether (ETH) or ERC20 Ethereum tokens, you can trade anonymously on the decentralized Ethereum exchange EtherDelta.

Decentralized exchanges also offer a more secure alternative than its centralized counterparts as users are always in full control of their own funds, which greatly reduces the risk of cyber theft or losses due to an exchange collapsing.

To hide your IP address, do not forget to use the Tor Browser.

Convert Bitcoin into Monero and Vice Versa

Monero is current widely regarded as the most anonymous cryptocurrency in the market today. Monero (XMR) allows provides its users with full transactional privacy and user anonymity.

If you want to reduce the chance of anyone knowing how much you have investing in Bitcoin, you can convert your Bitcoin into Monero using ShapeShift, which does not require you to verify your identity. Then you can use XMR.to to send Monero to a Bitcoin address using a wallet, and increase the ring size to 10+ if you want to take even more precaution.

If you want to obscure your Bitcoin investment paper trail, then this is an excellent strategy. So-called Bitcoin mixers are also an option to do this. However, they are generally riskier than using ShapeShift or XMR.to to convert your crypto.

Use Bitcoin ATMs to Cash Out Earnings

One of the biggest challenges for cryptocurrency investors is cashing crypto out for fiat. As much as Bitcoin users love to keep their money in crypto, there will be a point in time where users need to cash out to take profit. Cashing out, however, means going back into the fiat currency banking system, which makes cashing out a rather transparent affair.

To keep profit taking private, users can resort to selling their Bitcoin for fiat currency at Bitcoin ATMs. If you are planning to cash out much more than just $750 worth of Bitcoin into fiat currency, you may be rolling your eyes now. However, there is nothing keeping you from using the ATM over and over again or using machines in different locations. It is worth noting, however, that certain ATMs have cameras within the machines.

Whether you are a political dissident forced to use cryptocurrency as banks have turned their back on you, are concerned about a potential Bitcoin crackdown in your country, or simply want to hide your investments from the authorities for idealistic reasons, there are enough ways to retain your full financial sovereignty as a Bitcoin investor despite Bitcoin's transparent and traceable nature.