Privacy Mixing in Decrediton
Decred’s privacy mixing service “stakeshuffle” is incredibly easy to use and has many desirable features, including a large anonymity set and post-quantum secure mixing.
Initially, Decred’s primarily focus was on governance and while privacy is a separate subdomain within the space, it connects with the core principles of Decred’s Security, Adaptability, and Sustainability model. By giving users added privacy, Decred enhances both their and its financial security, making the project more resilient against malicious actors.
Decred’s privacy mixing service “stakeshuffle” is incredibly easy to use and has many desirable features, including a large anonymity set and post-quantum secure mixing. These features are achieved with the integration of Decred’s ticket staking system which has a consistently high throughput of over 60% of the coin supply, equating to over 9.4 million coins. Stakeshuffle is a non-custodial process that obfuscates ownership of DCR coins via a mixnet.
Let’s see how this services works in Decrediton. Click on the “Privacy and Security” tab on the left. When you click on the “Create Default Accounts” button, the system will create both the “unmixed” and “mixed” accounts needed. Mixes are created every 10 minutes, and it could take several times to fully mix your balance. While the mixer is running, Decrediton should remain open.
Click on the “Create Default Accounts” button and enter your passphrase to start. Then we need to move some funds into our new “unmixed” account. In my case, this will be done from the “default” account. I’ll send 2.01 DCR, then click on the “Send to self” button, enter my passphrase and click the “accept” button to sign the transaction. If you want to mix more of your coins at a later time, you can repeat the process of sending funds to your “unmixed” account.
Even though the transaction, might not be confirmed, we can still go head and click the “start mixer” button to begin mixing our coins. In the case we’re looking at here, it took five mix transactions to complete the process, approximately an hour. During this time, Decrediton was left running. At the end, when you get the insufficient funds message, it’s safe to stop the mixer. You should, however, leave Decrediton open until the last mix transaction has been confirmed.
That’s it. you’ve now successfully mixed your first coins and increased your privacy. One final reminded, to persevere this, you need to make sure future funds are only sent from the “mixed” account.
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