Have never used cryptocurrency before, all I know is that Bitcoin transactions can be tracked, Monero is the most widely accepted untraceable cryptocurrency, and many exchanges enforce KYC. I do not presently have the hardware to mine for myself at an appreciable rate. What do I need to know and use in order to set up a wallet, acquire crypto, exchange, and spend it as anonymously as I practically can?
If you are going to spend it on mundane and legal stuff and assuming you live in mostly free country use a trustworthy exchange even if it requires KYC and spend it normally.
Keep in mind once you buy monero even from a KYC exchange they can’t track it afterwards. And this will be the safest option no real risk of getting scammed or stabbed.
If you are thinking about grey area then keep in mind that the moment something touches real world no matter whether you were using Tor, I2P or something else. It can be traced back to you. And if you are a worthwhile target LEA will spend resources to track you down.
There are ways to avoid that like using local monero and all but keep in mind those also involve different set of risks.
#NotAFinancialAdvice #NotALegalAdvice.
Do your homework and don’t get scammed or stabbed.
As a general guideline, I recommend you watch a video or two about how Monero works. Don’t know how strict your threat model is but it’s always good to know what a tool can and cannot do.
I also recommend you run your own Monero node. MentalOutlaw explains pretty nicely why it’s necessary and how to do it.
As for where to spend Monero, there used to be general indexes hosted on HackLiberty and Nowhere. But of the top of my head I can recommend XMRbazaar and ProxyStore.
In case your bored, an index of some intresting material to read.
