Bitcoin Privacy Scorecard — Rating Your Setup from 0 to 100

Bitcoin Privacy Scorecard

I've created this privacy scorecard based on years of studying Bitcoin privacy. Rate yourself honestly — most people score lower than they expect. That's okay. The goal is improvement, not perfection.

Acquisition Privacy (0-25 points)

Method	Points
Mining your own Bitcoin	25
P2P purchase (Bisq, RoboSats, cash)	20
Non-KYC exchange with minimal data	15
KYC exchange, immediately withdraw	5
KYC exchange, leave on exchange	0

Storage Privacy (0-25 points)

Setup	Points
Air-gapped hardware wallet + own node	25
Hardware wallet + own node	20
Hardware wallet + public Electrum server	10
Mobile wallet (non-custodial)	7
Exchange custody	0

Transaction Privacy (0-25 points)

Practice	Points
CoinJoin before spending + PayJoin	25
CoinJoin before spending	18
Coin control (manual UTXO selection)	12
Always use new addresses, avoid reuse	8
No UTXO management	0

Network Privacy (0-25 points)

Setup	Points
Full node over Tor + Tor for wallet	25
Full node over Tor	18
VPN for all Bitcoin activity	10
Tor Browser for exchanges only	5
No network privacy measures	0

Score Interpretation

• 80-100: Excellent. You're doing everything right. You're harder to trace than 99% of Bitcoin users
• 60-79: Good. You have solid practices but some gaps. Focus on your weakest category
• 40-59: Average. Better than most but chain analysis can likely trace your activity. Time to level up
• 20-39: Below average. Your Bitcoin activity is largely traceable. Start with the basics
• 0-19: Minimal privacy. Your financial activity is essentially public. Please read our privacy guides immediately

The Privacy Improvement Path

Quick Wins (Do Today)

• Download Tor Browser and use it for exchange access
• Enable Tor in your Bitcoin wallet (most support it)
• Stop reusing addresses
• Start using coin control in Sparrow or Electrum

Medium Effort (This Month)

• Set up a Bitcoin full node (Umbrel on a Raspberry Pi)
• Connect your wallets to your own node
• Do your first CoinJoin (Wasabi or JoinMarket)

Advanced (This Quarter)

• Acquire some Bitcoin through P2P methods
• Set up PayJoin for receiving payments
• Run your node as a Tor hidden service
• Implement coin control discipline for all spending

You don't need to be a cypherpunk to deserve financial privacy. Start where you are, improve incrementally, and remember: every step you take toward privacy makes the entire network stronger for everyone.

Detailed privacy improvement guides at our learning center and tools page.