would I need to tumble for AB if I bought from blockchain and sent to electrum? electrum is not run through tails just downloaded and I sent it through scanning the electrum wallet code
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would I need to tumble for AB if I bought from blockchain and sent to electrum? electrum is not run through tails just downloaded and I sent it through scanning the electrum wallet code
[3 Points] penguinmixer:
[2 Points] Psychonaut_For_Life:
If you bought bitcoin using anything connected to your identity, then what you need to do is BTC Vendor ---> Electrum Wallet ---> Helix Light ---> Darknet wallet. Otherwise it is possible to link darkmarket activity to your identity if someone pays attention to the blockchain close enough (unlikely, but don't take chances).
I'm paranoid, so I'd also recommend using a VPN whenever you're doing any sort of related activity (posting on this subreddit, loading up electrum, opening Tor browser, etc).
[2 Points] hypnagoggle:
All you're going to get here is endless debate. But it's at least best to understand why you're tumbling, the purpose it serves. There are a couple possible reasons. One if you're a super secret spy drug kingpin kaiju who needs maximum opsec and tumbling is one of the many tools in your opsec arsenal. The other is you don't want the place you bought the coin from to know you sent it to alphabay. This would be because they'll probably close your account since you violated their terms of service (just like everyone else does).
I'm guessing it's the latter.
Keep in mind that as soon as you transfer that coin to an intermediate electrum wallet, they don't have a convenient way of proving that it's yours. For many, this has been enough security for them and they send it on through. If you want to get all fancy, set up a couple other wallets and bounce that coin around, but be ready to wait for all 'dem confirmations.
But blockchain and friends don't have to tell you why they closed your account or what their criteria were. Some have theorized even bouncing around other wallets isn't enough, but I'm not sure this has ever been confirmed. Point is, it's their hot bitcoin exchage and they can do what they want.
Tumbling is performed by a third-party service that you are forced to trust, not only with the coin you're sending them, but also that whatever whacko algorithms they're using to launder your coin are as effective as you want them to be. And that they're not collecting info on you. And that they're not the feds. You know. Standard stuff. There are a few that have been around for a long time and have a pretty good reputation among most members of the community. You can read up on them in the sideboard.
But the gist is: your coin goes in, fresh coin not connected to you in any way that was retrieved from somewhere in the bitcoinosphere comes out, minus a nominal fee. If that coin was used to pay for an assassination last time...well, them's the breaks. /s
A couple other wrinkles. Exchange companies know that tumblers exist and if they can figure out you sent money to one, that could get your account closed too. Plus many markets (alphabay?) have incorported their own tumbler and otherwise try to make it difficult for the exchanges to figure out you're sending money to them. But is that something you want to rely on? Ugh... Soo...you could send money to an intermediate Electrum wallet, then to a tumbler...that might not be so bad.
The ultimate goal is to sever that bitcoin taint. If you wanna know what bitcoin taint is, it's that small space between the bitcoin's balls and its anus. Just kidding. It's how much one address (sender) is associated with another (receiver). Bitcoin's kinda layered, so this equation works out to different percentages, but the end result is something that could potentially be incriminating, notwithstanding that authorities have never used block chain tracking to bust someone. (It would appear there are much easier ways.)
Lastly, you could get real crazy like a loon and try to transfer that coin into an alt-coin and back. The jury is still out on whether this is as good as a tumbler, but it might look less shady, since you're merely a fine upstanding investor in various new internet currencies appearing on the landscape right? And there are convenient online tools for doing just this, like shapeshift and pals. The painful part is you gotta set up a whole other altcoin wallet and software and what-not.
As for the fine details of tracing the route of the money in this case, I'm not sure. Can they just track you to dogecoin and back? I will say that monero appears to have one of the best built-in anonymity systems of what's out there. It also happens to be a controversial alt-coin on this board, for complex reasons I won't delve into, since my post has clearly become an homeric epic. But the gist is, if you want to use monero, make sure you really learn how it works and use it right. And that's no small feat since that shit is fucking confusing. And for privacy, it's essential that you run a full monero node on your computer, which will take up memory and hard drive space, and can sometimes take literally for-e-ver to update. Still...pretty cool alt-coin so check it out. Don't half-ass it if you do.
Lastly, you could always go find a method where the connection between your wallet and the market ain't no thing but a chicken wing. Specifically, I'm referring to localbitcoin. Some people say libertyx works like that, but I don't know. Or you could go to San Francisco, frequent the hipster restaraunts and bars and ask someone randomly, "Hey bro, can I buy some bitcoin?" That might work.
TL;DR Maybe? Best not to make a rash decision...or heck, why not. Go with your gut!
[1 Points] None:
According to seraphim you don't need to tumble at all!
I would still recommend it though
[1 Points] DaRealDonaldTrump:
Just throwing a question out there....
Why not just change your bitcoin to monero?
Since the exchange will mask your transaction, this will be in effect, tumbling....right??
then on top of that, you have a more anonymous currency.
Or is there something wrong with doing this? Ive never done it, just throwing out an idea...
[1 Points] None:
[removed]
"At first I was thinking you probably don't need to tumble since the btc are going to the vendor, surely they would tumble all their funds would they not?"
The issue is that certain entities (exchanges, law enforcement) track which bitcoin addresses belong to darknet markets. So if you send your funds into a darknet market, don't do it directly from a wallet that is tied to your identity. First, send your bitcoins into an anonymous wallet (like your Electrum wallet behind tor) or into a mixer. Then go from there to the darknet market wallet.