Quick answer
Most crypto payments aren't anonymous. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and most other coins record every payment on a public ledger under addresses instead of names, and exchanges, reused addresses and analysis firms can link those addresses to people. Monero hides addresses and amounts on its own chain, but the exchange, payout provider and cashout service at each end still keep their own records, and in most countries the law requires them to.
That gap between "no name" and "no trace" is what this page is about. It's one part of our guide to whether cashing out crypto is safe, which covers the rest.
You'll see what a stranger can read from one address, how Monero changes that, why regulators and exchanges keep tightening the rules, and what Zilligo stores about an order.
Everything here is about lawful privacy: keeping your finances away from strangers, not away from the law.
Are crypto payments anonymous?
No, they're pseudonymous. A payment carries an address instead of your name, and the moment anyone ties that address to you, its whole history becomes yours.
That openness is a feature, not a flaw. Bitcoin.org calls Bitcoin "probably the most transparent payment network in the world", because anyone can check every payment without trusting a bank.
What can a stranger learn from one wallet address?
Paste an address into a free block explorer and you see every payment in and out, the amounts, the dates and the balance right now. Anyone can look, and nobody is told you looked.
On the public record
- The sending and receiving addresses
- The exact amount and the network fee
- The time it confirmed
- The current balance of each address
- Every other payment those addresses ever made
Not on the record
- Your name, ID or face
- Your email or phone number
- Your bank, PayPal or card details
- What the payment was for
Example: What one reused Bitcoin address gives away
A made-up history with network fees left out. A reader also learns which exchange you use, roughly when you're paid, and where the 0.020 BTC went next.
| Coin on Zilligo | Network | Addresses visible? | Amounts visible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Bitcoin | Yes | Yes |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Ethereum (ERC-20) | Yes | Yes |
| Tether (USDT) | Tron (TRC-20) or Ethereum (ERC-20) | Yes | Yes, and the issuer can freeze an address |
| BNB | BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) | Yes | Yes |
| Solana (SOL) | Solana | Yes | Yes |
| XRP | XRP Ledger | Yes, plus the destination tag | Yes |
| Monero (XMR) | Monero | No, hidden by design | No, hidden by design |
The seven coins and networks Zilligo accepts. Only one keeps the details of a payment off the public record.
How does an address get tied to your name?
An address meets a name wherever you've identified yourself. One such meeting point is enough, because coins can then be followed forwards and backwards from it.
It knows your deposit addresses and logs every address you withdraw to.
The bank, PayPal or app account where the money lands is in your name.
An address on a profile, invoice, donation page or screenshot is linked to you for good.
Combining several addresses in one payment suggests one owner controls them all.
Companies such as Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs label addresses for exchanges and investigators.
Customer records held by any company can leak and connect the dots for strangers.
How is Monero different, and why do exchanges keep dropping it?
Monero hides the sender, the receiver and the amount of every payment by default. Regulated exchanges must trace payments for their compliance checks, and that's exactly what Monero is built to stop.
It uses three tools together: ring signatures mix your input with decoys, stealth addresses create a one-off address for each payment, and RingCT conceals the amount.
| What the chain shows | Bitcoin | Monero |
|---|---|---|
| Who sent it | The sending address | One of several possible senders |
| Who received it | The receiving address | A one-off address only the receiver can recognise |
| How much | The exact amount | Hidden |
| That a payment happened | Yes | Yes |
| Records at the exchange or cashout service | Kept | Kept |
Monero changes what the public ledger reveals. It doesn't change what the businesses at each end store.
- 20 Feb 2024Binance delists XMR
Monero trading ends on the world's largest exchange.
- 31 Oct 2024Kraken stops XMR in the EEA
Trading and deposits end for European customers, citing regulatory changes.
- 30 Dec 2024EU travel rule applies
Crypto providers must pass sender and receiver details with each transfer.
- July 2027EU AML rules bite
Banks and crypto providers in the EU may no longer offer accounts that allow anonymity-enhancing coins.
Zilligo accepts Monero, on the Monero network, as one of its seven coins. The Monero page explains how an XMR order works.
What do the travel rule and KYC mean for your payments?
When a regulated provider sends crypto for you, your details increasingly travel with the coins. That's the travel rule, and identity checks (KYC) are how providers collect those details in the first place.
| Where | What applies | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 91 of 109 jurisdictions surveyed by FATF had travel rule laws in force | FATF update, 15 July 2026 |
| United States | Transfers of $3,000 or more, including in crypto, can trigger the travel rule for money transmitters | FinCEN guidance, May 2019 |
| European Union | Crypto providers attach sender and receiver information to transfers under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 | 30 December 2024 |
| European Union, next | Providers may not keep accounts that allow anonymity-enhancing coins | July 2027 |
These rules bind providers, not individuals. A transfer between two wallets you control yourself isn't a provider transfer.
Does a service without ID uploads sit outside all this? No. It still monitors orders and keeps records, which is why cash out crypto without KYC explains what "no ID upload" really covers.
What does Zilligo store about your order, and for how long?
Zilligo collects no identity documents in its standard service, and keeps order records for 5 years because anti-money laundering rules require it. Here's the full list, taken from the privacy policy:
| What | Includes | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Nickname, handle, a hashed sign-in key and recovery code; email, phone and country only if you add them | While the account exists |
| Order record | Service, coin, network, amounts, deposit address, payout detail (encrypted), status history, times, transaction hashes, support notes | 5 years from the order |
| Sign-in sessions | IP address and browser details, shown to you as browser and system | Ended after 30 days without use |
| Remembered devices | Browsers that signed in to the account | Deleted after 400 days unused |
| Support messages | What you wrote, your contact handle and order ID | As long as needed for support and legal duties |
Saved payout details, such as a PayPal email or an IBAN, are stored encrypted and shown masked.
Every order is also reviewed by a team member. Under the AML policy, suspicious activity can be reported to the financial intelligence unit where the law requires it, and Zilligo cooperates with law enforcement requests that come with proper legal process.
You can download your profile, preferences, saved payout details and orders from your account at any time. Deleting the account removes the profile, keys and saved details, while order records stay for the 5 years.
How can you share less with strangers, legally?
Fresh addresses, separate wallets and nothing posted in public cut most of the links a stranger could make. None of it breaks a rule or costs a cent.
Privacy habits that stay inside the law
- A new receiving address each time, where your wallet supports it.
- Separate wallets for separate jobs: one for public payments, another for savings.
- No screenshots showing addresses, balances or transaction IDs.
- Read the privacy policy of each exchange, wallet and payout service before you use it.
- Give a payout only the details it needs, and nothing extra.
- Keep full records for yourself, because tax rules still apply.
MoneroCopy this order's address fresh. Every Zilligo order has its own.
SendWhere does privacy end and a crime begin?
Keeping your finances away from strangers is normal and legal. Using privacy to hide criminal money, get around sanctions or avoid tax is a crime, whatever coin is involved.
You don't want anyone reading your balance or your salary.
Rivals shouldn't see your suppliers, margins or customers.
Visible holdings can make you a target for theft or extortion.
Lawful privacy
- Fresh addresses and separate wallets
- Choosing coins and payouts that share less in public
- Reading privacy policies and picking careful providers
- Reporting your gains to the tax office
Where it becomes a crime
- Moving money from fraud, theft or other crimes
- Getting around sanctions
- Hiding income or gains from the tax office
- Splitting payments to slip under reporting rules
Tax applies whatever coin you sell; crypto tax when you cash out covers when and how. If someone offers to make your coins "untraceable" for a fee, read crypto cashout scams first.
Now it is your turn
Crypto gives you a pen name on a permanent public record, and the businesses at each end keep the rest.
Within the law, fresh addresses, separate wallets and a careful choice of coin and payout cut what strangers can see by a lot.
Which of those habits could you start on your next payment?
Start a cashoutFrequently asked questions
Can someone find my name from my wallet address?
Not from the address alone. If it ever touched a verified exchange, a named payout or a public post, though, the link can be made, often by the business holding your details or by analysis firms working for exchanges and investigators.
Is USDT more private than Bitcoin?
No. USDT on Tron or Ethereum is just as public, and its issuer, Tether, can freeze USDT at an address. See the USDT page.
Is Monero legal to own?
In most countries, yes. What's tightening is what exchanges and providers may offer: several have delisted it, and EU providers face a ban on accounts allowing such coins from July 2027. Check your own country's rules; this isn't legal advice.
Does Zilligo accept Monero?
Yes. Monero (XMR) on the Monero network is one of the seven coins Zilligo accepts, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, BNB, Solana and XRP.
Does Zilligo ask for ID?
Identity documents aren't collected as part of the standard service. You do need a free account with a handle, and every order is reviewed and kept on file for 5 years, as the AML policy requires.
Can I delete my order history?
You can delete your account once no order is still open, which removes your profile, keys and saved payout details. Order records are kept for 5 years after each order for anti-money laundering reasons.
Does a new address hide my old payments?
It keeps new payments apart from old ones. If you later spend from old and new addresses in the same payment, though, the chain shows they share an owner.
Sources
- Protect your privacyBitcoin.org
- What is Monero (XMR)?The Monero Project
- Binance Will Delist ANT, MULTI, VAI, XMR on 2024-02-20Binance
- Kraken ends Monero support in European Economic AreaCointelegraph
- EU to ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy tokens by 2027Cointelegraph
- The EBA issues travel rule guidance to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing in transfers of funds and crypto assetsEuropean Banking Authority
- Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (FIN-2019-G001)FinCEN
- FATF's seventh Targeted Update on Virtual AssetsNotabene
