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Mixing (tumbling)

Definition

A service or protocol that accepts cryptocurrency inputs from multiple users and returns equivalent outputs in a way designed to break the linkage between sending and receiving addresses. CoinJoin is the most common Bitcoin mixing protocol.

Related terms

Attribution database
A commercial or law-enforcement dataset that maps known addresses or address clusters to real-world entities: exchanges, darknet markets, ransomware operators, sanctioned individuals,...
Change-address heuristic
The inference that one output from a Bitcoin transaction (usually the smaller one, to a fresh address) is change returning to the...
Co-spend heuristic
The inference that when multiple Bitcoin inputs appear in one transaction, all those input addresses are controlled by the same entity, because...
De-anonymisation
The process of linking a pseudonymous address or cluster to a real-world identity. Most commonly achieved through exchange KYC records, but also...
Peel chain
A transaction pattern where one large input is repeatedly split, sending most of the value one hop forward and a small remainder...

Explained in

  • Cryptocurrency Tracing TechniquesA service or protocol that accepts cryptocurrency inputs from multiple users and returns equivalent outputs in a way designed to break the linkage between send...

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