0d
Nostr Pride 🌈
0d0f5949fac6c78874b172d35475132054623dab19edae8537048165fc64842f
Replying to Avatar Super Testnet

Maybe, but the way they found the admin of Incognito Market is not something you can fix by using your own monero node. They used timing analysis: they observed four instances where he acquired monero via a KYC-free exchange, withdrew it to a self-custodial wallet (perhaps a node? it wouldn't make a difference to the trace), and then, minutes later, sent a similar amount to a KYC'd exchange. It is unlikely that the same amount would be withdrawn from exchange A and sent to exchange B -- each within short time frames -- unless the same person did it each time. So that is how they nabbed him.

This particular tracing method would also work against the lightning network.

Lessons learned to hide the flow of your money better: (1) if you have to forward money from your self-custodial node to another destination, wait some time before doing it so that you are less susceptible to timing analysis (2) do not use KYC'd exchanges at all (3) avoid getting into situations where you need to forward everything received into your self-custodial wallet to the same destination -- e.g. use multiple no-KYC exchanges (4) split up your money so that the amounts you send differ significantly from the amounts you receive. The perp failed in this regard by sending to a KYC'd exchange the exact same amount he received from the no-KYC exchange, which he did once; the other three times, he sent amounts that were a bit lower or higher than the amounts he received, so for better privacy it would be wise to make them differ even more.