Glossary

Mixing

1 min read

A mixing service, sometimes called a mixer or a tumbler, accepts bitcoin deposits and sends different pieces of bitcoin back to the user in the same amount. When done properly, this effectively obscures ownership of the bitcoin and allows users to privatize their bitcoin.

Mixing services have run into legal disputes and several have been shut down and charged with money laundering. This is because mixing services, unlike CoinJoin services, take custody of user funds.

Related Terms
CoinJoin
CoinJoin transactions provide increased privacy for users by breaking the heuristics used by chain analysis companies. A CoinJoin transaction combines inputs from several users and returns to each user the exact same amount, making it difficult to track users and their coins.
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Know Your Customer (KYC)
Know Your Customer Laws, Anti-Money Laundering, and Counter-Terrorism Financing Laws are all intended to combat illicit money transfers by mandating that all bank accounts be identifiable to individuals or organizations.
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Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) is a category of laws and regulations that are intended to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, and other illicit activities.
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Chain Analysis
Chain analysis uses heuristics to analyse the blockchain and trace ownership of bitcoin across transactions. Chain analysis is performed by companies who contract with governments and regulated institutions to provide insight into how individuals send and receive bitcoin.
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