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A bitcoin tumbler site that offers users untraceable cryptocurrency, BestMixer, could have tainted many wallets by giving them small amounts of BTC as gifts, a practice called crypto dusting.
According to a cryptocurrency security firm, Cypher Trace, if your wallet was among those that received the gift then you may be holding laundered coins. The company believes that, although BestMixer’s owners are compliant, they could have transacted with an alleged money launderer, without consent or knowledge.
According to the CEO of Cipher Trace, David Jevans, wallets that dealt with BestMixer could attract attention from relevant regulators. He also believes that anyone using a tumbler site could be suspected of questionable motives.
It All Started In October 2018
BestMixer began the promotional campaign in October 2018, whereby it set BTC to wallet addresses, adding a promotional message for their tumbler services. The amount sent was minuscule, and ranged between 666 and 888 satoshis.
BestMixer allows people to transact completely anonymously, enabling them to remain private when swiping funds with others. The funds are sourced from different pools, depending on the privacy level a person requires.
The tumbler site also perfects on a time delay in the intention of making it hard for blockchain analysts to trace transactions.
Cryptocurrency Payments No Longer Anonymous
Tracing cryptocurrency transactions used to be difficult, and lack of AML/KYC control made it difficult to link a person to their wallet address. Because of this, criminals found an opportunity to use the medium for their illicit activities; with platforms such as Silk Toad become more popular in the belief that bitcoin is untraceable.
These days, however, most cryptocurrency exchanges have introduced AML/KYC check for every account, allowing them to track cryptocurrencies moving in and out of a wallet. They have also developed sophisticated techniques and tools that link every address to their owners.
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