Help How-to: Darknet, Bitcoins etc.

[Anima]

Hey guys, this is my first thread so please be gentle with me. (:

I know questions about where and how to get started with darknet and payment methods have been popping up here and there quite a few times and I have been wondering if there is a chance that we collect infos and instructions on this thread together?

Personally I have no clue about where or how to start and many others might be in the same position. My mental capacity is not at its best at the moment and I would really really appreciate some help!

 

[therhydler]

I knew the child spirits would spark some interest...

 

[therhydler]

On a more serious note... I don't know how to access the dark web but for bitcoin I really recommend Bitpanda if you are in Europe. It's really straightforward and easy to use and there is no waiting involved for transactions

 

[Anima]

Thanks to both of you @therhydler and @retarddd. I find it really hard to actually get all of this working. Is Bitpanda a wallet or just a trading space where you can purchase cryptocurrency? I am a bit worried that you have to give your payment details - I mean of course doh! - but that makes things even more traceable?

 

[Anima]

it's a trading place, you trade irl money for bitcoins i believe

And tgen you store them in a digital wallet? God, I feel like a fossil lol

 

[Anima]

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just a cryptographic code generated by lots of difficult math (a math problem that is impossible/nearly impossible to undo/reverse and gives a unique "answer"). This code represents the Bitcoin itself. To buy or sell it more math is done using bits from your side and the other person's side to make another new answer that is specific to you two and shows who now "owns" the answer (The Bitcoin) It's math and secret codes all the way down. It only has value because people choose to say so and is not backed by anything physical.

There are Exchanges (sites where you exchange real money for various cryptocurnencies) and Wallets (where you store the cryptocurrency as a digital code on your computer/hard drive/the cloud). Some Exchanges offer Wallets as a part of their site services, but it's not smart to have them store your cryptocurrency because they are unregulated like banks and people have lost it all when an Exchange closed down or someone (employee or hacker) stole everything. Once someone else gets your secret code that represents the Bitcoin...they own it. There is no way to get it back unless they choose to give it. There is no chargeback service or way to "undo". It's like mailing someone cash...it's now in their hands and they can do what they want with it, so it needs to be guarded and backups kept (Note this isn't a duplicate of the Bitcoin...its just a copy of all the math to show you still own it)...so in case you accidentally delete your hard drive or have some digitial issues...you can "recreate" the wallet as long as you have the codes. If you left your backup unprotected, with no passwords and laying in a cafe, someone could take that and recreate your wallet and take the Bitcoin. So everything you do needs to be kept secure with passwords and backups.

Another option is to buy directly from someone who has Bitcoin in their wallet. At the end of the day you have to trade someone real money for that cryptographic code that represents the Bitcoin the have a place to keep that code safely until you use it.

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed and understandable explanation @oneofthesedays ! The concept of cryptocurrency does make much more sense now!

Is it possible to make these transfers somehow untraceable?

 

[sif]

Also you DO have to give personal details to exchanges...at least any legit/relatively safe ones. They ask for name, address, ID cards etc and will reject you if they cannot verify...you also have to attach a bank account to get money IN to the exchange to buy the cryptocurrency. They don't want to get scammed either. The only way to "anonymously" buy Bitcoin is face to face, but even then technically unless you have some high end tech knowledge to make your phone/laptop anonymous, and spy skills to avoid cameras etc you aren't totally anonymous...but again nobody cares unless you are the guy selling 1000kg of cocaine a week and some government is trying to get you. Nobody is tracking down one person buying N to CTB.

In short...bitcoin isn't actually guaranteed anonymous though you can make it harder for anyone looking to know who you are. It's just the easiest way you can send money to people for sketchy things since you cannot post cash safely, and most sellers of sketchy things aren't going to take Visa. Both the postal services/customs and banks/credit cards have armies of people investigating things. Sending a code to someone else directly circumvents those armies, but it doesn't prevent someone focused on you to look at the blockchain and try to connect you with that sale via other methods.

It's easy to anonymise at the cost of fees, send it through a tumbler that exchanges for another crypto and then back again. There's no good reason some darknet vendors don't accept Monero imo.

 

[sif]

Purists may tear this explanation apart as its simplified and some people get REALLY mental about this stuff, but cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just a cryptographic code generated by lots of difficult math (a math problem that is impossible/nearly impossible to undo/reverse and gives a unique "answer"). This code represents the Bitcoin itself. To buy or sell it more math is done using bits from your side and the other person's side to make another new answer that is specific to you two and shows who now "owns" the answer (The Bitcoin) It's math and secret codes all the way down. It only has value because people choose to say so and is not backed by anything physical.

There are Exchanges (sites where you exchange real money for various cryptocurnencies) and Wallets (where you store the cryptocurrency as a digital code on your computer/hard drive/the cloud). Some Exchanges offer Wallets as a part of their site services, but it's not smart to have them store your cryptocurrency because they are unregulated like banks and people have lost it all when an Exchange closed down or someone (employee or hacker) stole everything. Once someone else gets your secret code that represents the Bitcoin...they own it. There is no way to get it back unless they choose to give it. There is no chargeback service or way to "undo". It's like mailing someone cash...it's now in their hands and they can do what they want with it, so it needs to be guarded and backups kept (Note this isn't a duplicate of the Bitcoin...its just a copy of all the math and a secret code to show you still own it)...so in case you accidentally delete your hard drive or have some digital issues...you can "recreate" the wallet as long as you have the codes. If you left your backup unprotected, with no passwords and laying in a cafe, someone could take that and recreate your wallet and take the Bitcoin. So everything you do needs to be kept secure with passwords and backups.

Another option is to buy directly from someone who has Bitcoin in their wallet where you hand them cash and they send the secret codes/math from their wallet to yours using the address (another bunch of math that looks like random numbers and letters) you give them. At the end of the day you have to trade someone or some service real money for that cryptographic code that represents the Bitcoin, and then have a place to keep that code safely until you use it. You can even print all the codes off on paper and put them in a safe so they aren't online or on a computer anywhere. But to use them you have to enter those codes back into a digital wallet...like putting cash in your bank account to be able to use your debit card.

There really is no way to do this TRULY anonymously for 99% of people since these purchases and sales are all recorded in a ledger called the "blockchain" which is a history of all the math and codes exchanged. You CAN do a sort of "money laundering" thing called "mixing" or "tumbling" where you pay someone else to try and hide your math in a bunch of other math, but then you are trusting a stranger not to just steal it all. Really nobody is going to be tracing the Bitcoin of a single person buying drugs online though, especially not a one time purchase. So fear of being found out this way is unwarranted.

Using "mental" as an adjective on this forum is a little bit insensitive.

 

[sif]

It's a pretty common phrase in many parts of the world to mean generalized craziness of behavior (That stunt was mental! etc) and not some slight on mental illness...like how in Britain and Australia etc friends call each other cunts...but Americans flip out over the word. I think you should be aware of context and should know from past interaction that I am not insensitive.

I know it is, but I still stand by my opinion. I am aware of the context and I am also aware of the place we are in. I often get misunderstood and then it is my responsibility to put that right, it's not your intentions I was worried about though.

 

[therhydler]

I know it is, but I still stand by my opinion. I am aware of the context and I am also aware of the place we are in.

I am sure @oneofthesedays meant no harm

 

[sif]

I am sure @oneofthesedays meant no harm

Many people don't mean any harm but still risk causing it by not being careful what they say, in my opinion.

 

[Anima]

@oneofthesedays you just made my day! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

How do you know all that stuff? O_o

 

[Anima]

Many people don't mean any harm but still risk causing it by not being careful what they say, in my opinion.

Yes, but we are all here trying to support each other and I don't think oneofthesedays was being intentionally insensitive. It's a common saying in the uk and some other places.

 

[therhydler]

Many people don't mean any harm but still risk causing it by not being careful what they say, in my opinion.

He was just trying to be helpful. Don't you think calling someone insensitive is also risking harm? Especially in a place like this... we are all suffering and trying to help eachother out

 

[sif]

He was just trying to be helpful. Don't you think calling someone insensitive is also risking harm? Especially in a place like this... we are all suffering and trying to help eachother out

Okay if you want to think that.

 

[Anima]

Reading about it when I needed to get some Bitcoin. It's a lot to digest and there is a lot of drama and poor behavior around the cryptocurrency "communities". It's hard to find simple explanations and there is a lot of aggressiveness and arrogance amongst "enthusiasts". Combined with the huge amount of scammers it can be stressful to understand I know.

Yeah it's like reading mandarin without actually knowing mandarin. Depression just slows everything down and effects the working memory so badly it seems almost impossible to learn new stuff and to understand contexts.

 

[Rollo]

Just make sure you have legit reputable online market. Some allow you to buy bitcoins through their interface, which make matters simpler. Make sure the address is correct. I was personally scammed by a phishing link imitating well-known marketplace.

 

[bigj75]

Bitcoins are easy. I've bought steroids and other stuff with them before.

 

[creationisdeath]

Purists may tear this explanation apart as its simplified and some people get REALLY mental about this stuff, but cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just a cryptographic code generated by lots of difficult math (a math problem that is impossible/nearly impossible to undo/reverse and gives a unique "answer"). This code represents the Bitcoin itself. To buy or sell it more math is done using bits from your side and the other person's side to make another new answer that is specific to you two and shows who now "owns" the answer (The Bitcoin) It's math and secret codes all the way down. It only has value because people choose to say so and is not backed by anything physical.

There are Exchanges (sites where you exchange real money for various cryptocurnencies) and Wallets (where you store the cryptocurrency as a digital code on your computer/hard drive/the cloud). Some Exchanges offer Wallets as a part of their site services, but it's not smart to have them store your cryptocurrency because they are unregulated like banks and people have lost it all when an Exchange closed down or someone (employee or hacker) stole everything. Once someone else gets your secret code that represents the Bitcoin...they own it. There is no way to get it back unless they choose to give it. There is no chargeback service or way to "undo". It's like mailing someone cash...it's now in their hands and they can do what they want with it, so it needs to be guarded and backups kept (Note this isn't a duplicate of the Bitcoin...its just a copy of all the math and a secret code to show you still own it)...so in case you accidentally delete your hard drive or have some digital issues...you can "recreate" the wallet as long as you have the codes. If you left your backup unprotected, with no passwords and laying in a cafe, someone could take that and recreate your wallet and take the Bitcoin. So everything you do needs to be kept secure with passwords and backups.

Another option is to buy directly from someone who has Bitcoin in their wallet where you hand them cash and they send the secret codes/math from their wallet to yours using the address (another bunch of math that looks like random numbers and letters) you give them. At the end of the day you have to trade someone or some service real money for that cryptographic code that represents the Bitcoin, and then have a place to keep that code safely until you use it. You can even print all the codes off on paper and put them in a safe so they aren't online or on a computer anywhere. But to use them you have to enter those codes back into a digital wallet...like putting cash in your bank account to be able to use your debit card.

There really is no way to do this TRULY anonymously for 99% of people since these purchases and sales are all recorded in a ledger called the "blockchain" which is a history of all the math and codes exchanged. You CAN do a sort of "money laundering" thing called "mixing" or "tumbling" where you pay someone else to try and hide your math in a bunch of other math, but then you are trusting a stranger not to just steal it all. Really nobody is going to be tracing the Bitcoin of a single person buying drugs online though, especially not a one time purchase. So fear of being found out this way is unwarranted.

There are ways where you don't need to trust strangers (except the exchange) but it's annoying and costly.
You need
- Accounts on multiple exchanges. (which know your identity to due intrusive spy laws thanks to our governments)
- A physical location that has people trading in real life (there are many sites for this, just meet in a public place for safety)
- Real wallets aka full nodes for both Bitcoin and coins like XMR which feature privacy by design. (this can be a real pain because of the insane disk space requirement and download time but anything else is not 100% trustworthy)
- An internet connection that is not traceable to you. You're recorded forever after all.

Then "simply" trade the BTC for XMR (or a similarly useful coin of choice, but I'm not sure if there are others with such extensive research), move the XMR from a real wallet you control to another, trade them again for BTC via an exchange that does not require you to give up your identity (very few left, hence physical trades).

Advantages:
- you now have fully private BTC to do with as you please

Disadvantages:
- effort
- cost. This is huge. Crypto exchanges demand INSANE fees. Unheard of in the real world. And real world trades with physical people usually have enormous markups that are even higher. If you want to have $100 in BTC you will have maybe $70 after all of this if you're efficient.

But if you want to buy N that is not really required since A is the one who has to make sure he stays secret. And since he's a massively wealthy multimillionaire he probably has people who do all of this in the best possible manner. If you want to cut the link to A then you can use real wallets between the exchange and A, without the additional XMR in between. Since nobody can prove who this middle one belongs to you cannot be held liable.

 

[creationisdeath]

Yeah I was simplifying since 99% of people won't be able to manage that and even then if someone REALLY wants to track you down they will do it with some sort of other investigative method, parallel construction etc. And as we both have said nobody is going to bother for someone buying N or some weed.

The thing with crypto (currency and cryptography/privacy) is it just takes ONE little fuckup to undo everything. One VPN disconnection, one accidental autologin, one error of any sort through normal human tiredness etc. It's nearly impossible to be anonymous and private...esp if someone powerful wants to find you.

Yes it's always some dumb little human mistake. The guy that spends his life in prison now was perfectly prepared.. but one day he logged in via clearnet because of habit or something and that's when they got him.. I think the one I mean operated silkroad.. I'm bad with names. This happened to multiple people :(

 

[sif]

Ross Ulbricht (Dread Pirate Roberts)...yeah used his own email from a cafe/library or something to check some darknet business and they had him...and made a huge example of him.

Aye but the way they caught him was 2 undercover agents knew where he would be with his laptop. They staged a lovers argument and when he stood up to see what was happening, one of them grabbed his laptop before he could lock it down.

 

[Anima]

It's not you...most people are really bad explainers and teachers in general, and online it's worse because there is so much arrogance and trying to prove to others how smart they are. The most cutting edge tech stuff is usually younger guys and they are more like this than most (this is not an insult to young men just a demographic reality). So take a technical topic...add in people who aren't good at explaining things...and toss in an egocentric community...and it's enough to put anyone off. You will find it in any hobby, niche or topic in various ways. People need to feel important and smart and tearing down "newbs" is an easy way to do that...and a pathetic one.

You are too kind (: i Yeah it seems to be a problem in general, because people are so very competitive defining their own egos over others weaknesses and failure. The anonymity on the net only adds to it.

 

[sif]

Leaving his linkedin up was a really silly idea.

 

[creationisdeath]

Aye but the way they caught him was 2 undercover agents knew where he would be with his laptop. They staged a lovers argument and when he stood up to see what was happening, one of them grabbed his laptop before he could lock it down.

Hm I must've mistaken him for someone else. The one I meant logged onto IRC via clearnet once. Doesn't matter though, one mistake...

And that was many years ago. Today we have total surveillance. We really live in a messed up time..

 

[lost_soul83]

Many people don't mean any harm but still risk causing it by not being careful what they say, in my opinion.

I think some people are overly sensitive to just about anything/everything, not speaking of anyone specific, just my opinion. Another opinion I have is that people shouldn't have to apologize for their opinions, that's why it's an opinion, because it's not fact, therefore, not right or wrong.

 

[lost_soul83]

This bit is settled between me and @sif and no need to wind it up. Everyone is ok here.

Just my opinions, that's all.

 

[sif]

Just my opinions, that's all.

I'll be dead soon, I don't really care about being too sensitive

 

[Broken]

On a more serious note... I don't know how to access the dark web but for bitcoin I really recommend Bitpanda if you are in Europe. It's really straightforward and easy to use and there is no waiting involved for transactions

Just went through the video registration for bitpanda but it's still asking me to verify. Now when I try again it says I can't because I've already started the verification process. My experience has been the complete opposite and I'm now stuck on if I can even use bitpanda? Not much I can do if if had confirmed verification but it tells me I still need to but can't because if already started. Oh the confusion.

 

[Broken]

I have set up a Blockchain wallet using a protonmail email address and had it verified. Tomorrow I intend to buy bitcoins. I've watched video tutorials on buying and sending Bitcoin through Blockchain. It seems really simple. Is it as easy as purchasing the bitcoins and then being given the wallet address of the person you want to send to, inputting the amount, address and hitting send? I guess my other question is to buy N can it all be done through Blockchain or do I need to signup to anything else?

 

[Broken]

i have been verified on blockchain.
I would like to buy 2 bottles at $550
I'm in Europe so the private courier is another $100
Can anyone give a rough estimate as to what the charges for purchasing Bitcoin and sending to A will be on top of the product price and postage.
Also I'm in the UK so when I know how much I need to pay in US dollars do I select buy Bitcoin using US dollars or British pound sterling. Obviously the money in my bank account is British pound sterling.

Please help me and if you'd rather please private message me. I thought I'd got the hang of this Bitcoin but I'm not so sure now!