Here’s an interesting tidbit about Bitcoin that often flies under the radar: the concept of “dust” transactions. In the Bitcoin network, “dust” refers to tiny amounts of Bitcoin—fractions of a satoshi (the smallest unit, 1/100,000,000 of a BTC)—that are so small they’re not worth the transaction fees to spend. These micro-amounts can clog up the blockchain, and wallets often restrict sending them to keep the network efficient.

What’s less known is that dust can be used strategically in what’s called a “dusting attack.” Hackers or scammers send tiny amounts of Bitcoin to thousands of addresses, then track those transactions to deanonymize users by linking their wallets to real-world identities through patterns of spending. It’s a privacy risk most casual users don’t think about. To counter this, some privacy-focused Bitcoin users rely on tools like coin mixers or simply avoid spending dust outputs altogether.