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2026 track

Anonymous Payments Track

On this page
  1. Reasons for a separate track
  2. Research goals for 2026
  3. Related articles
  4. Done so far
  5. Work in progress
  6. Translation candidates and further reading
  7. Ways to take part
  8. Ground rules

Anonymous payments is one of anoni.net's three tracks for 2026, alongside the personal privacy guide and Tor relays on campus. We research ways to pay anonymously beyond cash, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, zero-knowledge identity verification, and multi-signature arrangements, and work out which of them are lawful under the regulation in Taiwan. The track is still at the research stage, and people with experience in cryptocurrency, law, accounting, cryptography, or civil society organizations are welcome to join (see ways to take part).

Reasons for a separate track

Years of advocacy for anonymity tools have tended to leave out the privacy of money. The time, amount, and recipient of a transfer, combined with a card number or an account name, can reconstruct a person's relationships, movements, and commitments almost completely. The risk matches anonymity online in importance, while the tools and institutions lag well behind.

Cash is the most mature form of anonymous payment, with clear limits when money crosses borders, moves online, or reaches an organization as a donation. We survey the lawful alternatives, covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, zero-knowledge identity verification, and multi-signature arrangements, and read each against the regulatory environment in Taiwan.

Research goals for 2026

  • Concepts: setting out why anonymous payments matter from the threat model outward, connecting to the existing vocabulary of privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, and confidentiality
  • Tool survey: a privacy spectrum covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, self-custody wallets, and multi-signature, and how to choose between them
  • Scenario guidance: a lawful, auditable anonymous donation workflow for both advocacy organizations and donors
  • Advanced theory: readable Chinese-language material on what zero-knowledge proofs, ring signatures, and chain analysis can and cannot do
  • Regional regulation: following Taiwan's Virtual Asset Service Act through passage, promulgation, and entry into force, and maintaining a long-term reference on what it means for individuals and organizations
  • Cross-community dialogue: bringing anonymous payments to more open source communities and civic advocates through programming partnerships at COSCUP and other events

The articles follow the layers of the docs site's guides:

Most first drafts are published, and they are revised and extended on a quarterly rhythm.

Done so far

  • Observing the virtual asset service provider regime: after the Executive Yuan approved the draft Virtual Asset Service Act in April 2026 and sent it to the Legislative Yuan, we published a first observation on the docs blog, Taiwan’s Virtual Asset Service Bill: What the Cabinet Approved (and What Happens Next), covering its structure, penalties, and the role of industry associations at the public hearing. We then expanded it into a long-term reference, Taiwan's 2026 Virtual Asset Service Act. In May 2026 the reference added two sets of guidance for listed companies, on accounting for stablecoins and on internal controls for holding cryptocurrency, issued by the Accounting Research and Development Foundation at the request of the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange. It now follows the Act through its third reading on 30 June 2026
  • g0v Hackath71n proposal: we proposed anonymous payments as a discussion topic at g0v Hackath71n in Kaohsiung in January 2026, gathering initial interest
  • COSCUP 2026 programming partnership: with ETHTaipei, a joint anonymous payments session on the afternoon of 8 August 2026 at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. The programme is in COSCUP 2026 Anonymity Networks Community track, and the call for proposals and joint review arrangement in COSCUP 2026 Call for Proposals
  • The Global Gathering 2026 booth: anonymous payments was the topic of our booth at Global Gathering 2026 in Estoril, Portugal, on 6 September 2026, where we collected real situations from civil society groups and technologists
  • Structural placement: payments has a defined position within the docs site's seven sections rather than a separate category of its own
  • The financial censorship case: the May 2026 post Financial Companies as Censors: A Sinophone Asia-Pacific Reading of EFF's Transaction Denied sets the cases in Transaction Denied beside PayPal closing domestic transactions in Taiwan in 2017 and individuals in Taiwan still being unable to sign up for Stripe, then compares the same mechanisms in Hong Kong, mainland China, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia, as the motivating case for the whole track

Work in progress

  • Revising each layer: drafts across the layers above are published and being revised
  • Workshop planning: workshops beyond COSCUP, as partners ask for them
  • Translating outside research reports: candidates are listed in the next section
  • Regular internal research syncs: accumulating cases on CryptPad

Translation candidates and further reading

We have marked a few outside resources as translation candidates, and volunteers are welcome to translate them or summarize the key points:

  • Privacy coin design: the Monero and Zcash whitepapers and technical documentation
  • Stablecoin regulation: FATF policy recommendations and comparative studies across jurisdictions
  • Chain analysis: public reports from Chainalysis, Elliptic, and TRM Labs, and academic criticism of on-chain privacy
  • The Tornado Cash sanctions: a timeline of the US OFAC sanctions, the subsequent litigation, and the technical community's response
  • Cross-border donations: case studies on how advocacy organizations accept cryptocurrency donations within compliance
  • Financial censorship: Rainey Reitman's Transaction Denied (Beacon Press, 2026), documenting more than a decade of financial intermediaries acting as speech censors
  • EFF's financial censorship series (2012 to 2025): Smashwords, Nifty Archive, OnlyFans, Palestinians and PayPal, Naked Yoga, Tor and PayPal, Tornado Cash
  • US crypto market structure legislation, 2025 to 2026: the GENIUS Act (stablecoins, signed into law in July 2025), the CLARITY Act (market structure, through the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026), and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (passed the House in July 2025, with S.1124 pending in the Senate), as comparison material for Taiwan's Virtual Asset Service Act. A first comparison is in the international section of Taiwan's 2026 Virtual Asset Service Act

Ways to take part

Discussion happens on Matrix (homeserver im.anoni.net), with the anonymous payments conversations in the relevant rooms of the community's public Space. Collaborative writing uses CryptPad, and regular calls use Jitsi. Account requests and service entry points are on Services.

Backgrounds we would particularly welcome:

  • Industry experience with cryptocurrencies or stablecoins: sharing compliance and implementation observations
  • Legal or accounting expertise: commenting on the Virtual Asset Service Act and its implementing rules, anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer requirements, and tax detail
  • Experience running an advocacy organization or civil society group: knowing what donation channels actually run into
  • Cryptography: reviewing Chinese-language material on zero-knowledge proofs and ring signatures

No cryptocurrency experience is required. Wanting to learn is reason enough to join.

Ground rules

All discussion presumes lawful use, and this track needs particular care. Workshops and sessions present material for education and understanding risk, and do not assist money laundering, tax evasion, or other unlawful conduct. For legal questions about a specific situation, consult a professional. Community members' observations do not substitute for legal advice.