Information and comparisons, on privacy and security.
No trust set in Lelantus, no open keys are needed to create it, this makes it more secure.
Zcash had this shared key in 8 parts,once created and all parts combined,they destroyed the 8 laptops used to create key parts, this makes it potentially insecure, if the keys weren’t actually destroyed.
Not all privacy-focused coins can offer 100% privacy, untraceability and security in a 100% decentralized coin with trusted setup. Here’s what these attributes are and why they’re important:
Private
Your finances are not visible to the public. A person looking at the currency’s blockchain will not be able to see how much money they have.
Untraceable
The coins cannot be traced through blockchain analysis or blockchain monitoring.
Sure
All transactions are encrypted and the wallet containing your funds is encrypted.
Decentralized
All nodes (a node is a running instance of the coin’s blockchain) on the network are equal. There is no superclass of nodes that have more influence or control over transactions or the system than other nodes.
Coin analysis
Here is an analysis of well-known cryptocurrencies that claim anonymity and/or untraceability as their key differentiator. Bitcoin itself is not within the scope of this analysis, as it is never claimed to be anonymous.
Bitcoin Zero
Private
Bitcoin Zero, uses a cryptographically strong system, that allows you to send and receive funds, without your transactions being publicly visible, on the blockchain. This ensures that your purchases, receipts and other transfers remain private. The sender, the receiver and the amount of the transaction, are private.
Untraceable
With the final stage of Lelantus implemented Bitcoin Zero, it is untraceable.
Sure
Using a distributed peer-to-peer consensus network, every transaction is cryptographically protected. Individual accounts have a 12 or 24 word mnemonic seed, which can be typed in to back up the account. A password is required when creating a wallet, and account files are encrypted with a passphrase to ensure security.
Decentralized
Bitcoin Zero has no premine, founder reward, or treasury. They did not have an ICO, and are run in a way befitting a decentralized community. Bitcoin Zero is decentralized.
Private IP Masternodes
Bitcoin Zero Masternodes implement the maximum existing security and privacy, private IP, this makes them safe and private, they also have no hosting costs, they are configured and run directly in the Bitcoin Zero wallet, without the need to pay for hosting to outside vendors to run them.
Zcash
Private
Zcash transactions are visible on its blockchain. They allow hidden transitions, but less than 1% of transactions are fully protected. Since hidden transactions are optional and not the default (not to mention rarely used), hidden transactions stand out on your blockchain, drawing attention to themselves.
Untraceable
Regular transactions are transparent. Hidden transactions use zk-SNARKS, which have strong privacy guarantees under certain conditions. The question is whether these conditions are met, and seeing the miniscule number of people using armored capabilities, this remains in question.
Sure
Transactions are cryptographically secure.
Decentralized
Zcash is a company and currently takes 20% of all mined ZEC as a founder reward.Zcash required a Trusted Setup. This means that you have to trust that the system was set up honestly. If not set up honestly, unlimited amounts of ZEC could be created without anyone knowing. This would make the hacker rich and devalue ZEC. There is no way to tell if the trust setup was honestly executed. We have to take them at their word. This introduces a human point of failure in the system that is contrary to almost any other cryptocurrency. You should only trust math and verifiable source code in cryptocurrencies, not humans.
Private IP Nasternodes
No.
Dash
Private
We can include Dash as a privacy currency, as it has the ability to move coins privately.
Untraceable
Transactions are routed through a series of Masternodes so they cannot be traced. This practice could work if all masternode operators had only pure motives. However, if a government, a group of hackers, another entity or even an individual bought many masternodes (there would be no way of knowing if this occurred) and if the transaction went through a route where all the masternodes were owned by that entity , the entity could trace the transaction. Given the relatively low cost of masternodes and the huge budget of governments and some organizations, the possibility that coins can be traced is real.
Sure
Transactions are cryptographically secure.
Decentralized
Dash is decentralized.
Private IP Masternodes
No.
Grin
Private
Grin does not have a rich list, which would indicate some form of privacy. In fact, passive attackers scanning the chain cannot see which address has how much money in it, partly because the amounts are obfuscated through sensitive transactions, partly because the address data is not stored on the chain and in Partly due to Mimblewimble’s slicing technology, where intermediate transactions can be removed from the chain, leaving little metadata from past transactions.
Untraceable
Grin does not defend against an active attacker building a transaction graph. It is possible for both miners and a slightly modified node to see each transaction, save it before the hack tech starts, and build a full transaction graph from here, along with retaining all ‘hack’ data. They wouldn’t be able to discern any information before they start, but everything after they start will be valuable metadata that they could link transactions to.
Sure
Transactions are cryptographically secure.
Decentralized
Grin is decentralized.
Private IP Masternodes
No.
Bitcoin
Private
All Bitcoin transactions are visible on the blockchain and there is a rich list of Bitcoin, so Bitcoin is not private. Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous.
For Bitcoin mixers, you need to trust that they can keep your data safe and that they are not owned or cooperated with a government, hackers, or other entities.
Untraceable
Bitcoin is traceable.
Sure
Transactions are cryptographically secure.
Decentralized
Bitcoin itself is decentralized, but most mixing services are centralized. This means that you must trust them. However, some newer ones, like the Wasabi wallet, are not.
Private IP Masternode
No.
