Privacy coins: balancing anonymity and regulation

Privacy coins are cryptocurrencies that employ advanced cryptographic techniques to obscure the details of transactions - and the identities of the parties involved. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) where transactions are pseudonymous but traceable, privacy coins aim to offer true anonymity. Traditional cryptos are easily traceable from one digital wallet to another and have publicly known balances of coins. Where privacy coins employ various techniques to conceal this information. However, privacy coins enhance these basic functions with additional layers of security to anonymise transactions and/or the identities of wallet holders.

Source: Coinranking.com  (NB: ‘DigiByte coin’ has no association to this publication)

Key features of privacy coins

·      Obfuscation of transaction details: privacy coins utilise techniques such as stealth addresses, ring signatures and zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge) to mask transaction detai…