Paying with crypto does not make you anonymous by default. Most coins leave a public record of every payment, and the places where you buy them often know who you are. This guide explains how the common coins differ and the habits that actually protect your privacy when you pay for hosting.
Public ledgers are public
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Solana and most others record every transaction on a public ledger. Addresses are not names, but they are pseudonyms, and a single link to your identity, like an exchange withdrawal, can connect your whole history. Treat any payment from a coin on a public ledger as potentially traceable.
Where Monero is different
Monero hides senders, receivers and amounts by default using ring signatures, stealth addresses and confidential transactions. That makes payments much harder to follow than on public chains. It is the most private of the coins we accept. See paying with Bitcoin and Monero for the practical steps.
Habits that help
- Think about the on-ramp. The exchange where you buy coins usually collects your identity. What you do after that decides how linkable it is.
- Do not reuse addresses. Use a fresh receiving address for each purchase, and a new deposit address for each invoice.
- Keep funds you want to keep private away from funds tied to your name.
- Use your own wallet rather than leaving coins on an exchange.
- Use Monero when privacy matters most.
What our side collects
Signing up needs only a generated login, with no email and no name. You pay from a balance topped up with crypto. We do not need your identity to sell you a server. Read no-KYC hosting explained and our privacy policy for what is and is not stored.
Protect the account itself
- Save your generated login in a password manager. See self-hosting Vaultwarden.
- Use a unique, long password.
- Keep your own devices updated and free of malware, since that is where most real privacy loss happens.
Legal reminder
Privacy tools are legal in most countries, but you remain responsible for following the law where you live. This is general information, not legal advice.