What Is CoinJoin?
CoinJoin is a Bitcoin trick: several people agree to build one transaction with many inputs and many outputs, so a third party cannot easily say which input paid which output. It lives in the UTXO model. Ethereum's account model does not get this for free. Wasabi, Samourai (now a legal crater), and JoinMarket were the names people used.
How It Actually Works
- Each participant signs their own inputs. A well-built CoinJoin does not require you to hand coins to a coordinator. Equal-sized outputs are what create the anonymity set.
- It hides simple links. It does not make you invisible. Amount leftover as change, timing, and later spending can re-link you. Chain analytics firms sell exactly that re-linking.
- Exchanges may ask questions about CoinJoin-tagged coins or reject them. Privacy on Bitcoin is real and incomplete, and the compliance layer is not obligated to like it.
Risks and Common Mistakes
- Using a coordinator that takes custody. That is a mixer with extra steps.
- Assuming CoinJoin launders stolen funds. It does not change the legal character of the coins, and coordinators have been prosecuted.
- Skipping the basics: a new receive address per payer already helps more than most people bother to do. See public keys and reuse.
When It Matters
Understanding Bitcoin privacy headlines and exchange questionnaires. I will not walk anyone through evading surveillance on stolen or sanctioned coins. For ordinary receive hygiene, the Security page is enough.
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