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The top privacy coins you should know about

Privacy coins can be described as cryptocurrencies that provide users with high level of anonymity. Privacy coins are the safest way that a user can use to make blockchain transactions without exposing their financial details to public. These platforms use private-centric functions such as stealth address to hide user details on blockchain. However, some authorities see privacy-oriented coins as a tool that can be used by criminals to engage in illegal activities such as money laundering and fraud.

In case you are interested in learning more about privacy coins, below is a list of them that are easily available in today’s market.

  1. Monero

Monero is an open-source cryptocurrency that was launched back in April 2014. Monero focuses on privacy and decentralization that runs on several operating systems such as windows, IOS, Android and Linux. Since its launch, it has grown to be one of the most stable and secure privacy coin. Moreno is an independent cryptocurrency although, unlike other Cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or ripple, Monero was created with several anonymity features. Monero allows its users to have a strong command over the privacy of their data by keeping their transaction information within the blockchain completely anonymous.

Some of the unique features that have enabled Monero to be the top privacy coin in the market include Ring Signatures, Ring Confidential Transaction(RingCT) and Stealth Addresses.

  1. Dash

Dash is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was also founded in 2014. It offers same features as Bitcoin but has one additional feature where by it provides an option for instant and private transactions. Dash uses the proof-of-stake protocol to ensure the integrity of the system. This part of the system is designed to provide additional support to miners that validate transactions on the first tier of the service.

Later on the second tier of the service, masternodes are introduced to the network. This facilitates instant and private transactions as well as governance features. For a masternode to run effectively, a user must have a minimum of a 1000 tokens in their wallets. The instant-send function sends transactions along the second tier of the Dash blockchain, allowing them to be confirmed quickly.

Coinjoin method is used to send private transactions through attaching transactions together to make “joint payments”.

  1. Zcash

Zcash is a cryptocurrency aimed at using cryptography to provide enhanced privacy to its users compared to other cryptocurrencies.  Zcash uses a primary privacy feature known as the zero-knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs). The name may sound complicated but unbelievably, the basic functionality offered by this method is simple to understand. All the transactional data stored on the network is encrypted using zk-SNARKS. zk-SNARKS then verifies the data being exchanged ensuring that it is accurate, but does not reveal all the transaction details.

Notably, using zk-SNARKS is optional. The user can decide to use the transparent (public) or private addresses.

  1. PIVX

PIVX is another privacy coin that works like Dash. However, it operates on proof-of-work rather than proof-of-stake. PIVX users use masternodes that help run the network smoothly. Unlike Dash that requires 1000 tokens to run this masternodes, PIVX requires 10,000 tokens. Due to this much higher threshold, PIVX has more of its available token supply tied up on various masternodes.

PIVX supports both private and instant transactions and has fast transaction verification. Transaction can be completely anonymous hence; user’s identity cannot be discovered.

  1. NavCoin

NavCoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was established in 2014, designed to be anonymous and simple to use. The NavTech system comprises of the traditional Bitcoin blockchain and NAV sub chain. By using these two chains, users are able to send transactions with complete anonymity.

NavCoin has seen significant growth in the past one year with their community growing to over 50,000 users. One of their major goals in 2018 is to be able to add support for instant exchanges across different countries.

  1. DeepOnion

DeepOnion is a new privacy coin whose main aim is to address the issues of privacy and anonymity. DeepOnion uses TOR, software that enables an anonymous communication, to send untraceable transactions. In order to offer fast confirmation times, it uses a mix of POS and POW protocol.

In addition, in order to keep transactions private it uses stealth addresses that allow the sender to use a one-time user address for their transactions.

  1. Cloak

Cloak Coin was launched in 2014 with a main aim of providing a coin that guaranteed total privacy in the blockchain. Cloak operates on proof-of-stake algorithm. It processes transactions quickly as it has a relatively short block time.

The Cloak platform offers two methods of making sure the transactions are untraceable. Firstly, it is the onion-routing privacy protocol, which encrypts messages with many layers similar to an onion. Secondly, it offers the Enigma process that provides additional privacy cloaking on transactions. The latter is mostly applied when a user requests for a cloaked enigma transaction.

Conclusion

Many more anonymity privacy-focused cryptocurrencies are out there. However, because the list is long, I focused on the most popular. If you know of any other that deserve to be on list, kindly let me know on the comments section.

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