Methods for anonymously purchasing Monero

Community Wiki
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For the past few weeks I’ve been going in circles trying to find the best way to purchase Monero while avoiding all the possible ways you could link an account/activity back to me. I wanted to document 2 techniques I believe are the best for purchasing XMR in terms of protecting your anonymity. This is for US only, I am not familiar with other countries. Please share your thoughts / any flaws you see below, thank you.

To start - create a cake wallet for XMR and point it at a Tor node.

  1. In person cash → XMR exchange: If you know somebody who already has monero, ask them if they’d be willing to exchange some of the XMR for cash. That person can transfer the XMR to your cake wallet and you hand them the cash in person, or mail it to them. This is ideal because it is coming from someone you trust so you don’t have to weed out scams online that offer cash for monero. The same could apply if your friend has other cryptocurrencies, they just need to go through an exchange and convert their crypto to your XMR wallet, then you mail the same cash through.
  2. Crypto ATM transfer → exchange to XMR: Research nearby bitcoin ATMs near you (or far away if you want to be extra careful) and note down the providers. The provider websites will usually tell you the purchase thresholds that trigger KYC so keep your purchases under that number (e.g. > $1000 → requires ID). At a minimum you’ll likely need a phone number. Go to a local walmart, general store, etc. and purchase a burner phone and a prepaid SIM card with cash that can accept SMS messages. Keep these in a faraday bag until you’re ready to activate the account. Go to the bitcoin ATM, purchase the crypto with cash. Put the phone back in the farraday bag with the SIM removed then when you get home, exchange the BTC wallet to XMR. Once transferred remove the BTC wallet and don’t use it for the next purchase. Transfer the XMR to a 2nd wallet if you want to add another layer removed from the exchange

General OPSEC notes

  • Wear plain clothes, a hat and a medical mask if you know there are cameras in the surrounding area/in the BTC ATM.
  • Only purchase a couple 100 dollars worth of BTC per SMS number. Burn the SIM and the phone frequently so you don’t trigger any KYC requirements.
  • Unless you absolutely have to - do not bring your phone with you when you have the burner phone.
  • Do not spend all your money in one place. I’d wait 30-90 days minimum before moving the XMR again

Last edited by @EarnestCondor13 2026-10-16T17:43:57Z

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Agree on this. Don’t buy the exact amount you want to spend in XMR in a transparent coin and then spend it in XMR. The cryptocurrencies page says this as well.

This seems excessive to me. Would this really matter if you’re spending partial amounts?

A few other questions or notes.

Purchasing XMR from fiat is not mainly what the government cares about. They are much more concerned with converting XMR into fiat or other coins because it has no history so dirty money becomes clean aka money laundering.

Monero is the cryptocurrency that you would worry the least about purchasing anonymously because you can use it anonymously whether or not you purchased it anonymously.

The reason to buy it anonymously is to prevent anyone from knowing you bought it. Another reason could be if you want to avoid data breaches. Most people do not need to buy Monero anonymously.