Setting Up Yomix: A Practical Privacy-First Guide to Home-Based Crypto Mixing

A comprehensive walkthrough for using the yomix non-custodial mixer with Tails OS and Tor Browser to enhance cryptocurrency privacy.

Yomix is a non-custodial, client-side mixer that supports Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum, Litecoin and a handful of stablecoins. Because the page runs entirely in your browser, you never hand coins to a third-party server—good for trust, but it also means every OPSEC decision lands on you. This walk-through shows how to spin up yomix from home without leaking metadata or leaving a forensic trail on your everyday machine.

What we're setting up and why it matters

Goal: create a bootable Tails OS USB, open Tor Browser, verify the yomix mirror, mix a small test amount, then wipe the session. Mixing breaks the on-chain link between your deposit and withdrawal addresses; Tails makes sure your ISP, DNS provider, or room-mate never sees the connection in the first place. Combining the two gives you network-level and chain-level privacy with minimal extra hardware.

Prerequisites

Skip the “mix from my phone” shortcut; mobile OSes love to back-up app data to the cloud. For more on mobile security risks, see Krebs on Security.

Step 1 – Burn Tails and boot safely

Download Tails 5.22 (or latest) from tails.net, verify the OpenPGP sig, then flash with BalenaEtcher. Power down, remove your normal drive if it’s easy, and boot the USB. When Tails greets you, click the “+” button and set an admin password—this lets you install a persistent Electrum or Feather later if you decide to keep the stick. Do NOT enable persistence for this first mix; we want amnesia.

Step 2 – Tor Browser hardening

Open Tor Browser (included). In about:config flip javascript.enabled to false. Yomix works without JS; turning it off shrinks the attack surface. Slide the security slider to “Safest”. Verify you’re on a v3 onion address—yomix changes mirrors every few months, so pull the current one from a fresh Dread post or well-known link aggregator. Always cross-check the PGP signed mirror list if it’s provided. The Tor Project website is the authoritative source for Tor Browser.

Step 3 – Generate a clean withdrawal wallet

Inside Tails, open the pre-installed Electrum (for BTC/LTC) or Feather (for XMR). Create a new seed, encrypt the wallet file with a long passphrase, and copy one receiving address to your clipboard. Close the wallet; you’ll re-open it after mixing to verify the incoming coins. Never reuse that address for anything else—burner wallet, burner address. For more on Bitcoin wallet security, refer to Bitcoin.org.

Step 4 – Mixing with yomix

On the yomix home page select your coin, paste the withdrawal address, choose a randomized delay (6–12 h is fine for small amounts), and set 2–3 output addresses if you want extra entropy. The interface shows you a min/max deposit range—stay well inside it; tiny deposits sometimes get rounded to zero by mining fees. Hit “Create Mix”, then save the Letter of Guarantee (LoG) HTML to the Tor Browser downloads folder. Copy the deposit address and exact amount to Electrum/Feather and broadcast. Once confirmed, yomix turns the progress bar green and gives you a tx-ID list; screenshot that inside Tails, then power-off—no need to wait for the delay while online.

Step 5 – Verification without leaving traces

Wait until your chosen delay passes plus an extra hour. Boot Tails again, open the same withdrawal wallet, let it sync, and confirm the expected amount arrived minus the yomix fee (0.5–3 % depending on coin). Compare the incoming tx-ID with the list in the LoG—if they match, the service didn’t switch your outputs. If something is missing, you have the PGP-signed LoG as proof; open a support ticket through the onion page, paste the deposit tx-ID and the LoG checksum. I’ve seen two stuck transactions; both were pushed manually within 24 h after supplying the LoG.

Common issues and quick fixes

Additional security recommendations

Rotate mirrors every session; bookmark nothing. Split larger sums into multiple mixes with staggered delays—think time-based coin-control. Monero users can skip yomix and use the native chain, but pairing xmr mixer functionality with BTC or ETH is handy when an exchange forces you back onto a transparent chain. Never access yomix crypto mixer links over clearnet proxies like onion.ly; exit nodes can swap the deposit address. Finally, keep the LoG and any mix notes on an encrypted USB separate from your daily backup; if you ever need to prove ownership, you’ll have the PGP signature intact. For broader privacy strategies, consult Privacy Guides and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Follow the sequence once slowly, then automate nothing—human review is the cheapest anti-fingerprint. Once you’re comfortable, mixing from home is no more dangerous than updating your router firmware, provided the amnesic environment does the talking and your real IP never enters the equation.

Privacy & Security Resources

Operating Systems

Tails OS - The amnesic live system.

Whonix - A desktop OS designed for anonymity.

Networking & Anonymity

Tor Project - Free software for anonymous communication.

Signal - Encrypted messaging app.

Cryptocurrency

Monero (XMR) - A private, decentralized cryptocurrency.

GnuPG - OpenPGP encryption and signing tool.

Advocacy & Guides

EFF - Defending digital privacy.

Privacy Guides - Knowledge and tools for privacy.