Sending Crypto Without Showing Your Wallet Address: Is It Really Private?

A new tool called Houdini Pay lets people get paid in crypto without sharing their wallet address. It works by creating a special link that anyone can use to pay them. The service supports over 4, 000 different digital currencies from various blockchains. When someone sends money through this link, it gets converted to the receiver's preferred currency. This setup makes it harder for either party to see the other's wallet details. The sender pays the fees, and the receiver gets the full amount. These payment links don't expire, but once made, they can't be changed. This means the amount requested is fixed, and any extra sent won't be converted. Houdini Pay is a centralized service. It follows anti-money laundering (AML) rules and can block users based on their location. The company and its partners keep records of transactions, including wallet addresses, amounts, and even IP addresses. If a transaction seems suspicious, they might ask for more information. While Houdini Pay makes it harder to track wallets, it doesn't offer strong privacy guarantees. It's not a mixer, and the company says it doesn't hold or control user funds. For stronger privacy, services like zkBob use advanced cryptography to hide sender, receiver, and transaction details. However, zkBob only supports a few currencies like Ether, USDt, and USDC. Privacy matters in crypto for many reasons. With a public address, anyone can see a user's balance, transaction history, and even the services they use. This can cause problems for businesses. For example, clients might offer lower rates to freelancers after checking their wallet balances. Competitors can also track supplier payments to copy strategies. Safety is another concern. Public wallet addresses make crypto holders targets for physical attacks. This year, there's been an increase in so-called "$5 wrench attacks, " where attackers use force to steal digital assets. Kidnappings and violence against crypto holders are becoming more common. In May, the French interior minister met with crypto professionals after a violent kidnapping attempt on a crypto exchange executive's family in Paris.