Mining company AmityAge reports that buyers are willing to pay a 5–10% premium for 'virgin' bitcoins, which are defined as assets that have undergone no more than three transfers after being mined. This demand comes primarily from institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices seeking assets with a short, easily verifiable transaction history.
The transaction process involves an exchange where a buyer trades their existing bitcoin for coins with a short history provided by a miner. AmityAge acts as an intermediary, coordinating the settlement and performing KYC and AML procedures for both parties. In 2019, market participants reported premiums as high as 20% for such coins.
Privacy-focused services like Mixer.Money offer an alternative approach to anonymity. Their 'Full Anonymity' mode splits incoming deposits into random parts, which are then traded on exchanges. The user receives different coins from independent participants, effectively breaking the link between the user's previous transaction history and their new holdings.
Mixer.Money provides a PGP-signed guarantee letter for each request and deletes service data within 24 hours of transaction completion. Users can test the service with a 0.001 BTC transaction. However, the effectiveness of these privacy measures depends on how the user manages the coins afterward, as combining them with known addresses can re-link the history.
