Bitcoin Blender

    Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin Mixing

    For comments about this guide please go to The Hub forums: http://thehub7gqe43miyc.onion/index.php?topic=21123.0.

    1. Introduction
        1.1 About This Guide
        1.2 What Is Bitcoin Mixing?
        1.3 Why Mix Your Coins?
        1.4 Is Mixing Bitcoins Legal?
    2. Mixing Bitcoins
        2.1 How to Mix Bitcoins
        2.2 When to Mix Bitcoins
    3. Blockchain Analysis
        3.1 What is Blockchain Analysis?
        3.2 Who Would Want to Track Me Down?
    4. How Bitcoin Mixers Achieve Anonymization
        4.1 Traditional Mixers (AKA Tumblers)
        4.2 CoinJoin
    5. Mixing Services
        5.1 Tor VS Clearnet
        5.2 Top Tor Mixing Services
        5.3 Top Clearnet Mixing Services
        5.4 What to Watch For When Choosing a Bitcoin Mixing Service
        5.5 DIY Mixing Methods
    6. Bitcoin Mixing Troubleshooting
    7. Additional Precautions for Maximum Protection
        7.1 Improving Your Anonymity
        7.2 How to Verify a Mixer has Removed All Taint


    There are plenty of technical papers and complex documents covering the delicate art of Bitcoin mixing, but none of them are really geared for the everyday user. This one is.

    For those of you who don't know me, I am the owner of Bitcoin Blender, a popular anonymous Bitcoin mixing service that has been running since January 2014. I am writing this guide because I feel as if there is not enough information out there for the average Bitcoin user - technical papers and complex documents are fine, but they only work if you have the patience to read them, and the skillset required to understand them.

    This guide will take you on a short but detailed tour through the wonderful world of Bitcoin mixing. My aim is to make this guide easy to understand, yet packed with useful content that you can actually do something with. When you read this guide, you will learn about topics such as:

    - Blockchain Analysis
    - How Mixing Services Work
    - How to Mix Your Coins Anonymously
    - Pitfalls To Avoid
    - Extra Measures to Keep You Safe

    I hope you enjoy this guide, and if you feel like I've missed anything important, please leave a comment and I will do my best to write it in.

    Bitcoin mixing is the name given to the process of exchanging your Bitcoin balance for an equal (or similar) amount from a different source. In other words, it is the process of obscuring where your coins came from, which in turn makes your digital trail much harder to follow.

    Many people think that mixing Bitcoin is only for people who are using them for illegal activity. Although it is true that you should always mix your Bitcoin if you are using them for illegal activity (and want to avoid getting caught), there are many other reasons why you might want to mix your coins. Let's explore some of the reasons you might want to mix your coins.

    I'll start by saying that Bitcoin is an excellent way to make purchases, donations, and p2p payments, without using banks and financial institutions. This makes it a very attractive way to pay for goods and services across a whole spectrum of interests. However, all Bitcoin activities are recorded and made available publicly via the blockchain - a comprehensive database which keeps a record of all bitcoin transactions. This means that when you use Bitcoin to pay for goods and services, you are making yourself vulnerable to monitoring and analysis by any interested 3rd party. Anybody who is ever involved in a transaction with you could identify your wallet addresses and monitor the balance at any given time, as well as find out where you're sending coins to and who you receive coins from. This could not only be an unnecessary intrusion on your privacy, but it could make you the target of cybercriminals who might be tempted to track you (and your Bitcoin balance) down.

    Mixing your coins is a great way to cover your tracks, and make your bitcoin transactions impossible to follow. This protects you against criminals, nosey parkers, and if you are indeed using Bitcoin for activities prohibited by the law, it also of course protects you against law enforcement. You can find out more about how people track Bitcoin transactions, and the kind of people who might want to track you down, in Chapter 3: Blockchain Analysis.

    Many people - "criminals" and "innocent people" alike - regularly use a mixing service to periodically exchange their old coins for new coins which cannot be associated with the original owner.

    It is not illegal to mix your coins. If this was your only question, then you can move on to the next section.

    Of course, the legal status of Bitcoin is an interesting topic - keep reading to learn more.

    The legal status of Bitcoin is massively different from one country to another. To my knowledge, no country has gone as far as making the use of Bitcoin outright illegal (yet!), but many have restricted or regulated how you can use Bitcoin. For example, Finland has set laws in place that make Bitcoin taxable. Perhaps a more extreme example of Bitcoin being regulated by law, is the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, which in 2014 made a statement explaining that the use of virtual currency as payment would violate their State's law. There is a very useful page on Wikipedia which gives a detailed breakdown of Bitcoin's legal status by country, which you can find here:

    If you live in a country where Bitcoin transactions are frowned upon, then this is even more reason to mix your coins and keep your transaction history anonymous.


    Mixing Bitcoin is a fairly simple process. In this section, I am only going to cover the very basics - there is more information about different mixing services, extra precautions you can take, and DIY mixing methods later on in this guide.

    The most straightforward way to mix your coins is to run them through a dedicated Bitcoin mixing service. There are plenty of these around - some of them exist on the clearnet, and there are many on the darknet, too. Here's what you'll need to do:

    I am going to use a more specific example now to show you what I mean. Let's use an example of activity that is considered illegal in many parts of the world, and assume you wish to purchase drugs online, via a DarkNet market, using Bitcoin. Let's also assume that the cost of your purchase turns out to be lower than you expected, leaving you with change:

    1. Purchase your coins
    2. Mix your coins
    3. Deposit the mixed coins to your Darknet market of choice
    4. Withdraw your change (to a fresh wallet or directly to a Bitcoin mixing service)
    5. Mix your coins
    6. Sell your coins

    In its most basic form, this is how you mix Bitcoin. There are many variations following this similar theme, and you should remember to carefully compare mixing services before choosing one, as you will be putting your balance into the hands of the people who run the service. This is a big responsibility.

    There is more information about different services in Chapter 5: Mixing Services.

    In order to maintain the best level of anonymity, you should mix your coins each time you are going to be sending or receiving them to or from a new source.

    For example, when you first purchase coins using cash, you should mix them before you spend them anywhere. This way there is no connection between the coins you purchased and the transaction you made. Another example might be that when it comes time to sell your coins, you would mix them before doing so. This way there is no way for the buyer to trace where your coins came from in the first place.


    1. Purchase your coins
    2. Mix your coins
    3. Deposit "clean" coins to your Darknet market of choice
    5. Mix your coins
    6. Sell your "clean" coins

    If we remove the mixing aspects of these two processes, then anybody with the right knowledge and tools would be able to see that where you spent your coins, or who you sold them to. This information could be used to identify you, your Bitcoin balance, or your purchases.


    As mentioned in an earlier segment of this guide, all Bitcoin activities are recorded and made publicly available via the blockchain - a comprehensive database which keeps a record of all Bitcoin transactions. The Blockchain is an essential component of Bitcoin, as without this publicly-available ledger, transactions would not be possible. However, the public nature of Bitcoin's ledger means that with the right tools, a person could track your spending and other Bitcoin activities.

    To put it simply, Blockchain Analysis is the process of watching the public ledger that governs the Bitcoin network, interpreting the data, and using this to learn a range of information. For example, a person analyzing the Blockchain may be interested to know where you send your coins once you get them. If they have your "starting" address, they could very easily track your activity.

    Blockchain Analysis goes deeper than simply watching coins jump from one address to another. Through complex data analysis, people can - and do - "tag" groups of Bitcoin addresses, and in some cases even identify who they belong to and what they are being used for.

    There are many kinds of people who might be interested in tracking you and your spending habits. These can include:

    - Law Enforcement Agencies. If a law enforcement agency suspects you of criminal activity, they may try to track your Bitcoin activity to see if they can link it to suspicious sites or services such as Darknet Markets. Alternatively, they may identify addresses belonging to Darknet Markets and follow the trail in the hope that users "cash out" their coins without protecting their anonymity, in order to identify who is using Bitcoin for illegal purposes.

    - Cyber Criminals. Cyber criminals may notice that you have a lot of coins in one of your wallets, and target this wallet with the intention of identifying you, hacking your computer, and stealing your coins. Both Law Enforcement Agencies and Cyber Criminals would probably use a combination of Blockchain Analysis and Social Engineering to unmask you, but their end goals are different.

    - Researchers. Many people analyze the Blockchain - and in some cases, your specific transactions - with the simple goal of research in mind. The intention of researchers is generally to improve and refine ways of analyzing the Blockchain. This in itself is not particularly damaging, but the more that is known about Blockchain Analysis, the harder it becomes to leave a clean trail behind you - and the easier it is for other parties to track you.

    Here is a list of Blockchain Analysis companies, some are avaible for free public use, some are known to work together with Law Enforcement Agencies and Bitcoin payment processors:


    There are a number of Bitcoin mixing methods available, and so I'd like to walk you through how the two most popular methods help you to achieve anonymization:

    1. Traditional Mixers (AKA Tumblers)
    2. CoinJoin

    The way a traditional Bitcoin mixer or tumbler works, is by giving the user new coins that have 0% taint to the original coins. "Taint", in this context, simply means the connection the new coins have to the original coins.

    Most traditional mixers or tumblers will have a large stash of coins which they use to provide their customers with new coins. When the user deposits their coins to the mixing service, these coins are then moved into the mixer, and when they withdraw coins they receive new coins randomly from the large stash. At some point down the line new coins are moved into the large stash.

    Traditional mixers tend to offer additional features to further protect their users anonymity. These are often optional, but you should always use them where possible, as they will help you protect your anonymity more than simply exchanging your coins for new coins. This is because even if you remove the taint, somebody with their heart set on tracking you can use logical deduction to guess where your transactions are leading.

    These additional features include:

    - Randomized Service Fee. Somebody keen to find out where a transaction goes may know that Mixer X charges a flat 2% fee, and therefore will look for another transaction further on in the Blockchain that contains the amount they wish to track, minus 2%. This is far more difficult when the service fee is randomized and unpredictable.

    - Randomized Delay. A randomized delay again makes it difficult for somebody watching the Blockchain to logically conclude where the original transaction has gone. If the mix occurs instantly, all they have to do is watch the next few transactions after the initial deposit to find out where a similar amount has popped out. With a randomized delay, they could be waiting hours or even days, which leaves lots of time for similar transactions to occur.

    - Multiple Withdrawals. Some mixers send the new coins via multiple transactions and to multiple addresses. This again helps prevent trackers from putting two and two together to see where the next logical step in the chain might be.

    [4.2] COINJOIN
    Another mixing method is CoinJoin. So far, we haven't covered this type of Bitcoin Mixing, as it does not actually remove the taint, but it is worth looking at, and you should be free to assess all of your options in order to make the most informed decisions when mixing your coins.

    A CoinJoin works by combining inputs from several users, and broadcasting all of the different transactions as one single transaction.

    For example:

    1. Alan wants to send Stacy 0.5 BTC
    2. Peter wants to send Paul 0.2 BTC
    3. Jordan wants to send Rajesh 0.6 BTC
    4. Alan, Peter and Jordan all send their coins via CoinJoin
    5. CoinJoin adds all transactions together, and uses this small combined pool to pay Stacy, Paul and Rajesh their 0.5, 0.2 and 0.6 Bitcoin.

    This makes it harder to tell who sent coins to who. Many users combine CoinJoin with a traditional mixing service to further boost their anonymity.

    In a nutshell, CoinJoin is definitely a step ahead of simply sending your coins directly to where you want them to go, but it is not widely considered to be a reliable method of anonymizing your trail.

    Now that you know the basics of Bitcoin mixing, why it's important and what it involves, we're going to talk about the different kind of mixing services that are out there.

    Lots of Bitcoin Mixing services exist, both on the Darknet and the Clearnet. There are benefits and drawbacks of each, which I'm going to go through now.

    If your aim is to simply prevent criminals from tracking you down, or to stop people snooping on your spending activity, and providing you are not using Bitcoin for anything illegal, then there is nothing wrong with using a Clearnet mixing service. In fact, you might even find that a Clearnet service, in this instance, is a better option, especially if they are registered as a legitimite business - they will have legal obligations to protect your information, and you are much less likely to fall victim to a pop-up shop that simply aims to run away with your deposit. However, with a Clearnet mixing service, you are making it much more easier for a person with the right tools to unmask you. More specifically, you open yourself up to scrutiny from Law Enforcement Agencies. A legitimite online business could be subject to a court order to release details of customers, meaning that if Law Enforcement has a reason to suspect shady dealings, then it is within the realm of possibility for them to force your information out of the mixing service. Of course, you might still be able to achieve anonymity with the help of Tor or a VPN (Virtual Private Network), but it becomes a much more complicated process. If you are serious about making sure there is as little trace as possible leading back to your identity, then you are probably better opting for a Darknet mixing service that is hosted within the Tor network.

    Tor improves your anonymity by encrypting your requests and bouncing them around multiple computers, making it very difficult to trace where your request originated from, and obscuring your activity. Even if your mixing service of choice were somehow seized, and all server information decrypted, your IP address would be hidden by the Tor network, and the worst case scenario would be that whoever seized the server may be able to trace which transactions went where - and most mixing services will not keep a permanent record of this anyway. Using a Darknet mixing service affords you much easier, and much more reliable anonymity, than using a Clearnet mixing service. However, as most onion services are not run as legitimate businesses, there is often no way of knowing who to trust, i.e. which services are genuine, and which are likely to steal your coins.

    If you must use a Clearnet mixing service, make sure you use Tor or a VPN. For maximum anonymity, find a Darknet mixing service you can trust.

    I am going to list a handful of Tor mixing services that you might want to try. Please do not take these links as solid recommendations - it is important that you do your own research - make sure you double-check the links below before visiting. Phishing links are everywhere!

    1. Bitcoin Blender

    Link: http://bitblndfpglsj63w.onion

    This is my own Bitcoin mixing service, and offers all of the advanced features you should expect. I have been operating this popular service since January 2014. You can mix coins either by creating an account, or by using the Quick Mix functionality which does not require login - both do the same job, but creating an account gives you a little more control and lets you earn loyalty discounts. Features include:

    - Randomized service fee (1-3%)
    - Customizable delay (optional, up to 99 hours)
    - Multiple address withdrawals (optional)
    - Optional 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)

    I also run a loyalty and referral program. If you deposit more than 10 BTC in the last 7 days your fee is lowered by 0.5% (0.5-2.5%).

    2. Grams Helix

    Link: http://grams7enufi7jmdl.onion/helix

    Also operating since 2014, Helix is part of the Grams brand, and is a fairly well-known mixing service running on the Darknet. Helix Lite lets you mix coins without an account. Using the regular Helix service requires account creation. Features include:

    - Standard service fee (2.5%)
    - Customizable delay (optional, up to 24 hours)
    - Multiple address withdrawals (optional)
    - Optional 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)

    3. Bitcoin Fog

    Link: http://foggeddriztrcar2.onion

    Announced in 2011, Bitcoin Fog is the longest-established major Bitcoin Mixing service on the Darknet. Many community members caution against its use, claiming that the service "selectively scams" its users. To use the service, account creation is required. Features include:

    - Randomized service fee (1-3%)
    - Customizable delay (optional, up to 48 hours)
    - Multiple address withdrawals (optional)

    4. SIGAINT Pay Shield

    Link: http://payshld6oxbu5eft.onion

    Announced in 2015, Pay Shield is a new Bitcoin Mixing service operating on the Darknet. No account creation is required to use the service. Features include:

    - Randomized service fee (~2%)

    I am going to list a handful of Clearnet mixing services that you might want to try. Please do not take these links as solid recommendations - do your own research first, check for phishing links - and remember to read the section entitled TOR VS CLEARNET before choosing to use a Clearnet mixer, so that you are aware of the potential risks involved.



    Despite being a Clearnet mixing service, claims to keep no logs or personal information, essentially marketing itself as an anonymous Bitcoin mixing service. No account creation is required to use the service, and features include:

    - Customizable service fee (set your own service fee between 0.5 and 3.5%)
    - Customizable delay (optional, up to 23 hours)
    - Multiple withdrawals (optional)

    - All traffic goes through CloudFlare
    - Requires JavaScript

    2. Bit Launder


    Bit Launder offers two services - a Quick Mix and a Secure Mix. Account creation is required, and features include:

    - Standardized service fees (2% or 3% depending on the service selected)
    - Customizable delay (optional)
    - Multiple withdrawals (optional)

    - All traffic goes through CloudFlare
    - Requires JavaScript

    3. Coin Mixer


    Coin Mixer was started in 2013, and offers a standard Bitcoin Mixing service online, with no account creation required. Features include:

    - Randomized service fees (1.5-3%)
    - Randomized delay (mandatory, between 1 and 6 hours)
    - Multiple withdrawals (optional)

    - All traffic goes through CloudFlare

    Remember: Although most Clearnet mixing services may not ask for any personal details, they may be retaining your IP address when you use their site. If in doubt, find a Tor alternative, or use a VPN.

    There are certain potential flaws in Bitcoin Mixing Services that you should be aware of. Each service may have its own unique flaws - for example, if it does not allow you to set a delay, or if it only allows you to withdraw to a single address. But for the sake of this segment, we are only going to be looking at major flaws.

    There are a few major flaws to look out for when using a Bitcoin Mixing Service:

    1. Poor Reputation.

    Naturally, you do not want your Bitcoin Mixing Service to run away with your coins. This goes without saying. If you want to avoid this flaw, do not use a service without doing research in advance. If you're unsure about a service, look for reviews online or on darknet discussion forums like The Hub. Please note that if you are using CoinJoin, due to the nature of this method, your coins cannot be stolen.

    2. Identification by Blockchain Analysis.

    Some Bitcoin Mixing Services have been identified and tagged through Blockchain Analysis. This is where researchers and analysts have managed to associate certain wallets with certain services, which with enough work could be used to help track you down. To check if a service you are considering may have been tagged, you might want to look at the following Blockchain Analysis website:


    3. Small Coin Pools

    This is a problem most commonly associated with newer mixing services that have smaller Bitcoin reserves and low volume. If the service you are using only has a small reserve of Bitcoin, then depending on the size of your deposit you could end up receiving a part of or all of the same coins as you deposited on withdrawing. If you are mixing a large quantity of coins, avoid newer mixing services that may have smaller Bitcoin reserves.

    Unless you have a deep technical understanding of Bitcoin and Blockchain Analysis, you should normally aim to avoid "DIY Mixing Methods".

    For example, some people think that by sending their Bitcoins through another service - such as or a Bitcoin Gambling website - they are anonymizing their trail. However, these services are not designed to anonymize your transactions. On top of this, services like these could be Subpoenaed at any time by Law Enforcement, and be forced to hand over any details you registered with them when you joined. These are normal services, and are not designed with anonymity in mind!

    If you are technically competent, you may have a working technique for anonymizing your Bitcoin trail. However, you probably won't be reading this guide if that is the case - and so, my advice here, is to stay away from DIY Mixing Methods as a way to anonymize your trail.

    If you are not happy using a centralized mixing service, you might want to review the CoinJoin segment within chapter 4 as a possible alternative.

    When you are sending coins to any organization or online service, it can be a daunting experience. Will you ever see your coins again? How can you check on the status of your transaction? What if nothing happens and you lose your money?

    Here are a few steps for you to take if your coins go missing, or if you are concerned about a transaction that is taking place:

    1. Check progress in your Bitcoin client.
    If you've sent coins to a mixing service and they haven't shown up yet, the first thing you should do is check the progress of your transaction using the Bitcoin client you sent from or using a blockexplorer like Many mixing services will not add the coins to your account until it has hit more than one confirmation in the blockchain. Check the details of the transaction - if there have not been any confirmations, or if there are only one or two, then give it a bit more time. The Bitcoin network can sometimes be slow, and transactions can take up to an hour before they are fully confirmed.

    2. Check the address you sent to.
    If your transaction has been confirmed multiple times, but the coins are still not showing in your account. Check the deposit address given to you by the mixing service, and make sure it matches the one you used. If it doesn't match, then chances are you used a different address that you accidentally copied. If it does match, but the coins aren't showing, then there are two possible reasons for this, which I'll explain next.

    3. Check the URL
    One reason your coins might not be showing up, is if you have used a phishing website. This is a website that is designed to look like the service you meant to use, but which will steal your coins. If the URL in your browser is different to the URL you know for the service, then this is the most probably cause for your coins going missing, and there is very little you can do about it.

    4. Contact support
    If the address is accurate, the transaction has been confirmed and the URL is correct, but your coins are still missing, then there could be a problem or delay on the mixing service's end. Contact their support and see if they can fix it for you.

    We've now covered all of the basics involving Bitcoin Mixing. But protecting your anonymity is never a cut-n-paste job, and there are always extra precautions you can take!

    To help you on your way, here are a few final hints and tips to help you stay anonymous and safe while using Bitcoin:

    1. Make sure your Bitcoin wallet is configured to run over Tor. This prevents people from connecting your transactions to your IP address!

    2. Keep your eye out for phishing websites. Phishing websites are websites that replicate genuine services, but are designed to steal your Bitcoin and collect information. For example, if you accidentally use a Phishing website that is designed to look like a genuine mixer, you might end up sending your coins to cyber criminals instead, as well as sharing your login details. You can avoid phishing websites by keeping a record of the genuine URLs that you know to be correct, and then checking this address is correct before logging in or depositing coins.

    3. Use Tails, or Qubes + Whonix. This makes your Tor browsing extra secure and further protects your anonymity.

    Another way you can protect your anonymity and improve your security, is by testing the mixing service you've decided to use. If you blindly trust a mixer to remove 100% taint, then you are putting your anonymity into another person's hands. If their service does not do what it claims to do, then your identity could be compromised!

    When using a mixing service, it is good practice to manually check whether 100% of taint has been removed. Here is the most simple way to do it:

    1. Visit https://blockchainbdgpzk.onion/ or
    2. Enter the address where you received your new coins
    3. Under "Tools", visit the "Taint Analysis" page

    Here, you will see a complete list of addresses associated with the new coins that you have received. If you can find the address where you sent the old coins to on this list, then it means there is still some taint remaining. The number next to the address will tell you the percentage of taint that remains - the higher this number, the more strongly associated the two addresses are.

    You should complete this process at least the first few times you use a new mixing service, so that you can be sure they are consistently removing the taint from your transactions. It is also worth doing spot-checks every so often, for as long as you continue using their service.

    Good luck, and please feel free to contact me with anything I might have missed!
