A crypto tumbler is a service that mixes users’ coins with those of other people to obscure the origin of the original funds. A tumbler is designed to help Bitcoin users maintain privacy on the blockchain while sending and receiving funds.
When you send Bitcoin to an address in the blockchain, it leaves a permanent record that can easily be traced back to your wallet (or even to your IRL identity documents). This means that your transactions on the blockchain could be linked to illegal activity if you don’t take precautions. This is why tumblers exist – to help you keep your Bitcoin transactions private.
Essentially, tumblers are like blenders for cryptocurrency. You deposit your coins into a tumbler pool, and they will be randomly mixed with other coins in the system, so that it’s impossible to tell where your coin came from. Afterwards, they’ll be spat back out to different addresses, again at random. So if you sent in one Bitcoin, you’ll get four or five fractions of it back (minus the transaction fee).
This is how tumblers make it hard for third parties to link your cryptocurrency to unlawful activity. However, there are legal concerns around using these services because they’re often associated with money laundering.
This is why it’s important to research the best tumbler services before choosing one. Check if they have customer support and what kind of privacy policies they follow, as well as their fees. In addition to this, it’s worth checking the security of the tumbler you’re considering. Crypto tumbler