Mixcoin: Anonymity for bitcoin with accountable mixes

Joseph Bonneau, Arvind Narayanan, Andrew Miller, Jeremy Clark, Joshua A. Kroll, Edward W. Felten

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

317 Scopus citations

Abstract

We propose Mixcoin, a protocol to facilitate anonymous payments in Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies. We build on the emergent phenomenon of currency mixes, adding an accountability mechanism to expose theft. We demonstrate that incentives of mixes and clients can be aligned to ensure that rational mixes will not steal. Our scheme is efficient and fully compatible with Bitcoin. Against a passive attacker, our scheme provides an anonymity set of all other users mixing coins contemporaneously. This is an interesting new property with no clear analog in better-studied communication mixes. Against active attackers our scheme offers similar anonymity to traditional communication mixes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationFinancial Cryptography and Data Security - 18th International Conference, FC 2014, Revised Selected Papers
EditorsReihaneh Safavi-Naini, Nicolas Christin
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages486-504
Number of pages19
ISBN (Electronic)9783662454718
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Event18th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, FC 2014 - Christ Church, Barbados
Duration: Mar 3 2014Mar 7 2014

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume8437
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other18th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, FC 2014
Country/TerritoryBarbados
CityChrist Church
Period3/3/143/7/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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