Yeah Bitcoin can be traced and every transaction is visible on the blockchain. Monero uses some crazy algorithms to obfuscate the transactions. I believe it’s still possible for state actors to trace but that’s very resource intensive and there’s ways to avoid it.

As @padreug@programming.dev says, BTC is easier to acquire and may be sufficient. Depends on your threat model!

I’ve never been asked for identification. I imagine that would trigger if you’re trying to swap very large amounts.

A monero transfer should be untraceable but you can always use a holding wallet for changenow to deposit into and then send it to a full anon wallet for extra layers of security.

Crypto is great but you must understand that it’s not an investment. Monero is a currency that can be used to buy goods and services anonymously.

It’ll be harder to acquire Monero depending on where you live. For instance, Monero is banned on all UK exchanges. Don’t let that stop you though.

First, sign up to a service which allows you to buy Bitcoin. I wouldn’t recommend Binance (obviously) but OKX or Kraken or anything will do.

Second, purchase Bitcoin. I would recommend transferring it to a local wallet immediately. I use the Wasabi Wallet but there are alternatives.

Third, install the official Monero Wallet.

Finally, use a swap service like changenow.io to acquire Monero. Send Bitcoin to their address and they’ll send Monero to your wallet.

This is the process I use. A bit of effort but once you’re set up it doesn’t take that long. I use Monero to pay for my email, VPN and anything else that requires privacy.

People are scared of crypto for good reason. If you get an address wrong you could lose your coin. Double check everything and only hold what you can afford to lose.

Feels fucking great to pay for things outside the system^TM though. Good luck on your journey!

Yeah very literal. Would need millions of atoms of the stuff. Actually maybe that’s too dangerous lol

We have managed to see a single strontium atom - link. Maybe that’s attainable with anti-matter.

But yeah you’re right, capturing an anti-hyrdogen emission would be an huge achievement itself!

This is actually really exciting! I fucking love anti-matter, always been fascinated by it.

If anti-matter can exist, why is our universe made of matter? This is the Baryon Asymmetry question that this research seeks to answer. The team has proven they can isolate a single positron. The next step is to measure it to as much accuracy as they have with the electron. Perhaps they will find differences!

Summer '25 CERN showed that anti-matter baryons (protons, neutrons, etc) decay differently - link. So there’s a good chance they might find something!

Would love to actually see anti-matter but that’s a long way off. Really hope anti-matter likes to stick together and we could actually build atoms out of it. Would be crazy to study the properties of anti-water! Maybe that’s just science fiction. In any case, very excited for the coming research!