Privacy

2023-06-10

What CashFusion is and how to use it in Bitcoin Cash

CashFusion is a technology present in Bitcoin Cash that allows to obtain and improve privacy and anonymity. It is an implementation of CoinJoin, which is a system by which two or more users make a joint transaction, adding their coins into a common pool and then withdrawing them without the other participants knowing which coins correspond to whom.

Why is CashFusion needed?

As the Bitcoin Cash blockchain is public, the record of all transactions made by users is recorded. Companies such as Chainalysis are dedicated to studying network traffic and trying to combine metadata to identify coins belonging to specific users.

With CashFusion, not only does it become exponentially more expensive, but it is virtually impossible to break down a transaction made with this technology to identify the users.

Advantages

  • Improves resistance to censorship. CashFusion is an effective tool for circumventing controls, regulations and blacklists.
  • It is self-custodial. CashFusion works in a way that does not require giving access to bitcoins to any third party. The user maintains control of his funds at all times.
  • It has no commission. In other blockchains, privacy protocols charge users an extra fee to be used. Using CashFusion you only pay the network fee.

How does CashFusion work?

A traditional Bitcoin Cash transaction can look as follows:

Inputs | Outputs
-------+--------
2 BCH  | 2.5 BCH
1 BCH  | 0.5 BCH

This is almost certainly a user making a payment for the equivalent of 2.5 BCH, since if it were 0.5, one of the inputs would not be needed. For this reason, we can be almost certain that both input addresses and the output of 0.5 BCH belong to the same individual.

To prevent this from happening, confusion can be introduced into the transaction.

Inputs | Outputs
-------+--------
2 BCH  | 2.5 BCH
1 BCH  | 0.5 BCH

In this way, it is not possible to say exactly what is the origin and destination of the funds. A probabilistic element is introduced that is considered as noise by those who study the blockchain for the purpose of understanding the traffic of currencies.

CashFusion applies this principle in collaborative transactions between several participants.

Simplified operation

The CashFusion operating protocol is as follows:

  1. The user connects to a CashFusion server and registers on a public list to announce the size of coins to be mixed. This server is in charge of coordinating the transaction between the different participants.

  2. The server and the different participants wait until there are enough people waiting to make a merge.

  3. The merge starts. Each of the participants sends information to the server, but in a way in which it is not possible to know which coins belong to whom, guaranteeing privacy.

  4. Each user selects new addresses to receive the merged bitcoins. The idea is to use addresses that have not been seen before in the network.

How to use CashFusion?

The simplest way is to download the desktop or Android version of the Electron Cash wallet.

Official site: cashfusion.org

Link to Electron Cash wallet: electroncash.org

Technical Specification: github.com