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De-Mixing Wasabi Coinjoin Transactions: A Deep Dive Into Chainalysis’ Deanonymizing Claims

On Tuesday, journalist Laura Shin published a story that claims to identify the 2016 Genesis DAO hacker who siphoned 3.6 million ethereum from the decentralized autonomous organization. While the story surprised the crypto community, one of the biggest eye-openers was the blockchain analysis methods leveraged, and the claim that Chainalysis allegedly “de-mixed” Wasabi transactions.

Community Shocked by Chainalysis ‘De-Mixing’ Wasabi Transactions, Samourai Wallet Criticizes Wasabi’s Coinjoin Scheme

An article published by the journalist Laura Shin has revealed a so-called shocker about the use of Coinjoin transactions. Specifically, Shin’s report highlighted how she used a “powerful and previously secret forensics tool from crypto tracing firm Chainalysis.” According to the report, Chainalysis discovered the attacker sent 50 bitcoin to a Wasabi wallet, and the blockchain intelligence firm was reportedly able to “de-mix” the transactions. This piece of information was unexpected to a great number of crypto supporters. After the article was published, bitcoin advocate Nic Carter wrote:

Lots of crazy stuff in the DAO hacker piece this am, but the part that stood out to me was Chainalysis being able to demix Wasabi [transactions].

Furthermore, the team behind the Samourai wallet criticized Wasabi’s mixing scheme on Tuesday as well. Wasabi has been under fire in the past over privacy concerns and the team has been debating Samourai developers over the issue for years.

If you are using wasabi, you need to read this thread: https://t.co/FL7f30nWeC

“With Wasabi if you are mixing 10 BTC, I can trivially track that 10 BTC as it is peeled down into smaller utxos. The left over change is part of the mix tx, and thus creates a determinstic link” pic.twitter.com/yTqJCp0YLp

— ODELL (@ODELL) July 18, 2019

On July 16, 2019, Wasabi tweeted that it donated funds to the Tor project and left the transaction ID in the tweet. Crypto developer Keonne Rodriguez replied to Wasabi’s tweet and claimed to deanonymize the transfer.

“Input:1 comes from [the previous transaction] to Wirex in the amount of 4BTC in which 38 inputs from Wasabi mixes were merged,” Rodriguez said at the time. “Since Wirex uses 1 static address and doesn’t refresh them we know that the total amount sent to this Wirex account is 6 BTC (nice job).” The software engineer continued:

Input:0 comes from a prev mix with 31% of [transactions] seen together (this is actually a fairly low number for Wasabi, nice job), and a few obvious deterministic links. About 30 of the outputs have been clustered by OXT, and I suppose I can go and cluster more with a more powerful PC.

Samourai Sends Wasabi an ‘Immediate Private Disclosure’ in 2019, Wasabi Wallet Founder Stressed Samourai’s Claims Were ‘Inflated’

On August 19, 2020, the Samourai wallet team published a blog post that claimed to find two potential privacy vulnerabilities with Wasabi’s mixing scheme. Samourai detailed it discovered this information while researching the infamous Twitter hack that took place that summer. According to the wallet developers, they made an “immediate private disclosure” to the Wasabi team concerning the issues.

“The intention of this statement is to provide enough time for Wasabi Wallet users to seriously consider pausing usage of the Coinjoin aspect of the Wasabi software, if users wish to continue making use of this feature they should consider their reported anonset is *at bestequal to the anon-set of the last mix that generated the UTXO,” Samourai wrote at the time. However, Adam Ficsor, the founder of Wasabi wallet, claimed at the time that Samourai’s claims were “inflated.”

“They claimed Wasabi is broken because of the lack of randomness in coin selection for Coinjoins,” Ficsor said in an interview published the day after Samourai’s vulnerability report. “More specifically, they tried to show that if an adversary knows all the UTXOs in a wallet, then it can tell which coin will be mixed next time. This is pointless as the only entity who knows the UTXOs in a wallet is the user itself. Then they moved on to building more and more on this false premise, repeating their conclusion over and over again, and that’s the rest of the technical part of the letter.” Ficsor added:

The community knows their claims are inflated and in their latest attempt they seek more credibility by trying to get us to play along with their nonsense by writing us a blackmail letter that has all the social engineering tricks in it, like setting deadlines to create a sense of urgency, repeating their false conclusions over and over again, and presenting the possible options that we have and explaining the consequences of us not playing along to create a sense of fear.

Amir Taaki Calls Coinjoin Schemes ‘Absolute Garbage,’ Gavin Andresen Wouldn’t Be Surprised if ‘85% of Tornado Cash Usage Was Not Private’

In addition to Wasabi, the Coinjoin mixing scheme itself has been criticized for leaking specifics about the mixing participants. Essentially, Coinjoin is an anonymization scheme first proposed by the developer Gregory Maxwell and it allows participants to combine multiple payments into a single transaction in order to obfuscate the transaction process. It’s true that Coinjoin offers a deeper anonymity set, but if a user mixes a bunch of coins and eventually consolidates them into one address, it can still leave behind some traces to the original owner.

This issue has been known for quite some time and many developers have explained the downfalls of the deanonymization procedure. In July 2020, the crypto developer and activist Amir Taaki told the public that UTXO mixing concepts like Coinjoin were “absolute garbage.” Taaki is well known for developing the privacy wallet Dark Wallet, an unfinished Coinjoin wallet protocol he developed with Defense Distributed’s Cody Wilson. Taaki also claimed that the privacy-centric coin monero (XMR) and concepts like Mimblewimble were not that great.

Furthermore, the former Bitcoin Core developer Gavin Andresen has called out issues with Coinjoin schemes in the past as well. In a blog post published in January 2020, Andresen discussed the ethereum (ETH) mixing tool called Tornado Cash. Interestingly, Andresen wrote that he wouldn’t be surprised if a paper came out in 2023 that shows “85% of tornado usage was not private.” Andresen’s blog post adds:

Not because the cryptography is broken, but because it is really hard for mere mortals to use something like Tornado (or Coinjoin or other similar technologies) in a way that doesn’t leak information about their wallet.

Meanwhile, speaking with theblockcrypto.com’s Yogita Khatri and Tim Copeland, Chainalysis told the reporters that “Laura’s report about our role in her investigation is accurate.” The reporters also spoke with the Chainalysis competitor Elliptic and co-founder Tom Robinson stated that “Elliptic can also demix Wasabi transactions in some circumstances.”

What do you think about the claims showing Chainalysis de-mixed Wasabi transactions and the claims against Wasabi’s mixing scheme in the past? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Ethereum

Ethereum Price Analysis: Does ETH Have the Strength to Rise Above $2K?

Ethereum’s price is yet to show any willingness to recover, as the market has been moving sideways over the past week.

However, the current level can initiate a rebound if the price holds above it.

Technical Analysis

By Edris Derakhshi (TradingRage)

The Daily Chart

ETH’s daily chart remains bearish, with the price struggling to hold above the $1,900 support area after a prolonged downtrend. A breakdown of this level could reinforce further downside, potentially targeting the $1,600 support zone if selling pressure persists. The 200-day moving average remains well above, located around the $2,900 mark, signaling a strong bearish bias.

Meanwhile, the RSI is in the oversold territory, which suggests a short-term bounce could occur. A decisive break above $2,000 with strong volume could shift momentum toward $2,200, but failure to do so would likely confirm continued weakness in the short term.

The 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows a breakout from the descending wedge pattern, indicating a potential trend reversal. However, price action remains trapped around the $1,900 resistance zone, with multiple rejections signaling a lack of strong bullish momentum.

The RSI is recovering but still below overbought conditions, suggesting room for further upside if ETH can close above this key resistance area. A confirmed breakout above $2,000 could trigger a rally toward $2,100-$2,200, while failure to hold above $1,900 may lead to a retest of the $1,800 support level. Volume confirmation will be crucial in determining whether this breakout sustains or results in another rejection.

Onchain Analysis

By Edris Derakhshi (TradingRage)

Exchange Reserve

The Ethereum exchange reserve chart shows a continuous decline in the amount of ETH held on exchanges, currently near multi-year lows at around 18.8 million. This suggests a long-term trend of accumulation, as fewer tokens are available for immediate selling. Typically, declining exchange reserves indicate that investors are moving ETH to self-custody or staking, reducing potential selling pressure.

Despite the price drop to $1,900, the lack of a significant spike in exchange reserves implies that panic selling might not be fully materialized, which supports the idea that long-term holders somehow remain confident. From a technical perspective, ETH is at a critical resistance zone near $1,900-$2,000, and if buyers step in, the supply squeeze could lead to a strong recovery.

However, if the asset fails to reclaim key levels and sentiment worsens, some ETH could flow back to exchanges, increasing selling pressure. Watching reserve trends alongside price action will be crucial in determining whether the current downtrend is nearing exhaustion or if further downside remains likely.

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Ethereum

Ethereum at a Crossroads: Will ETH Fall to $1,250?

The largest altcoin by market cap has been among the biggest underperformers during the late 2024/early 2025 bull run, which saw many assets, including BTC, chart fresh peaks.

ETH’s most recent performance has been even more painful, as the asset dumped to its lowest level since November 2023 at under $1,800. The question raised now by analysts is whether ETH will continue losing ground and dump to $1,250.

ETH at $1,250?

Remember 2021? Back then, ETH was charting massive gains and its price soared toward $5,000. In fact, speculations emerged about a potential event called the ‘flippening,’ in which Ethereum could surpass Bitcoin and become the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Fast-forward some three and a half years later and that seems as distant from reality as fiat money becoming disinflationary. ETH bottomed below $1,000 during the 2022 bear market but went on the offensive again two years later. It failed to decisively overcome the $4,000 target despite its numerous attempts to conquer it in 2024. The latest rejection came in mid-December.

Since then, ETH’s price has nosedived hard, which culminated (for now) earlier this week with a drop below $1,800. As such, Ethereum not only erased all the gains registered after Trump’s presidential election victory but even plunged to its lowest levels since November 2023.

According to Ali Martinez, a crypto analyst with over 130,000 followers on X, the asset’s price drop meant that it had broken out of a years-long parallel channel, which could spell further trouble. In fact, he forecasted a slump to $1,250 – a level not seen in over two years.

#Ethereum $ETH targets $1,250 after breaking out from this parallel channel! pic.twitter.com/XS3N9p8Unr

— Ali (@ali_charts) March 14, 2025

But ETH Whales Keep Buying

CryptoPotato has repeatedly reported in recent weeks Ethereum whales’ predominantly bullish behavior. Recall that within a 48-hour period alone, they accumulated 1.1 million ETH, which is nearly 1% of the total supply. At the prices back then, it was worth over $2 billion in USD.

Martinez brought another chart showing that these large entities acquired more than 420,000 ETH in the following five days, valued at $800 million at today’s prices. Such massive accumulations should benefit the underlying asset as they decrease the immediate selling pressure. However, ETH’s price is yet to stage a notable recovery as it still sits below $2,000.

Whales have bought more than 420,000 #Ethereum $ETH in the last five days! pic.twitter.com/ZFF57gbq0e

— Ali (@ali_charts) March 14, 2025

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Ethereum

Why Is Ethereum (ETH) Falling Without Major Liquidations? ITB Breaks It Down

The price of ether (ETH) has been steadily declining for months, with this plunge taking a turn for the worse recently. However, the market intelligence firm IntoTheBlock found that the latest dip did not trigger huge liquidations compared to previous events.

According to an IntoTheBlock tweet, ETH liquidations have remained relatively moderate despite the cryptocurrency dropping to levels not seen in more than a year.

ETH Is Dipping Without Major Liquidations

IntoTheBlock says the moderate liquidations can be traced to a significant decline in high-risk loans across lending platforms. Investors are taking a risk-off stance as they apply more caution in their positions. This is likely driven by macro concerns regarding potential global tariff tensions.

The United States has been knee-deep in economic uncertainty for a while after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs against its major trade partners, including China, Canada, and Mexico.

Although some industry analysts believe the trade tariffs will positively impact cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin (BTC), in the long term, the market has experienced high volatility since Trump made the announcements earlier last month. On the day Trump imposed the tariffs, about $400 billion was wiped out from the market, with the overall capitalization falling by at least 11% within 24 hours.

According to CoinMarketCap data, ETH has nosedived from the $2,800 level to at least $1,760 since early February. The second-largest crypto asset has been struggling, and just this week, it fell by roughly 13% after failing to hold a support level above $2,000. The coin is now trading at levels not seen since 2023. It was worth $1,900 at the time of writing.

ETH Price Outlook

CryptoPotato reported that ETH buyers have retreated and found support at the $1,800 level. However, it remains uncertain if ETH has bottomed and if this support level will be strong enough to reduce the selling pressure and allow the asset to start a recovery.

At its current price, ether is roughly 60% down from its mid-December high of $3,990. Unfortunately, further down pressure could drag the asset to $1,600. These possible scenarios, coupled with Ethereum’s underperformance against Bitcoin, have fueled investor caution.

Meanwhile, IntoTheBlock discovered a few days ago that ETH holders may be seeing this dip as a buying opportunity and are loading up on the asset. This is seen in the amount of ETH that left crypto exchanges last week—$1.8 billion worth of assets, marking the highest weekly amount since December 2022.

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