How Mirage is different
Most privacy tools ask you to change assets, enter a shared pool, create new addresses, or hand custody to an exchange. Mirage takes a different approach: it separates sender-side funding from the recipient-side transfer while keeping the experience on familiar stablecoin rails.
Mixers and privacy pools
A mixer or privacy pool collects deposits into a shared contract and lets users withdraw later. Privacy depends heavily on who else used that pool, which amounts were deposited, and how much time passed between entry and exit. Mirage does not place unrelated users' funds into one shared pool.
| Consideration | Mirage | Mixer or privacy pool |
|---|---|---|
| Potential anonymity set | Designed to blend into ordinary stablecoin activity during the relevant time window, rather than only activity inside one named pool | Usually limited to users and liquidity visible within that pool |
| Time to complete | Targets seconds on supported L2s and under 90 seconds on Ethereum mainnet, depending on network conditions | Stronger timing separation may require waiting for hours, days, or weeks before withdrawing |
| Fund handling | Each transaction has its own temporary escrow; unrelated users' funds are not commingled | Funds enter a shared contract or pool with other users' deposits |
| Usage visibility | Avoids one repeated pool address and uses verifiable escrow variation to make simple protocol classification harder | Pool deposits and withdrawals are easy for analytics systems to monitor and may trigger screening or platform restrictions |
| Capital lockup | Designed for an in-and-out transfer flow | Users may leave funds in the pool to improve timing privacy |
| Transfer amounts | Send the actual amount you need, including irregular amounts | Some systems depend on fixed denominations or rounded amounts to avoid standing out |
Mirage therefore aims at a broader privacy context than a single pool can provide. This does not mean every stablecoin transaction is automatically indistinguishable. Timing, amounts, liquidity, and adversarial analysis still matter. The important difference is that Mirage does not place every user inside one obvious public pool.
The lack of commingling also makes the transaction history easier to explain. Your funds enter your own temporary escrow and reimburse a node only after delivery is proven. They are not deposited into a balance shared with unknown users.
Privacy coins
Privacy coins can provide strong privacy within their own ecosystems. The difficulty is using them for ordinary USD-denominated transfers and Ethereum-based applications.
| Consideration | Mirage | Privacy coin |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of account | Sends supported stablecoins, so a $100 transfer remains a $100 stablecoin transfer | Often requires acquiring and spending a separate, price-volatile asset |
| Compatibility | Works with supported Ethereum networks and existing stablecoin infrastructure | Usually operates on a separate chain that is not directly compatible with Ethereum DeFi |
| Security basis | Relies on Ethereum's security and cryptographic verification. The escrow contract reimburses a node only after verifying a valid proof on Ethereum, and the user retains control of withdrawal. Neither Mirage nor the node must be trusted | Requires accepting the privacy coin's chain, consensus, bridge, and wallet assumptions |
| User experience | Uses familiar EVM wallets, addresses, tokens, and recipient flows | May require a new wallet, new backup process, new asset, and unfamiliar transaction model |
| Privacy model | Separates sender-side funding from recipient-side delivery without a shared anonymity pool | Uses a native private or shielded transaction set; implementations vary, and not every privacy coin is technically a mixer |
| Compliance access | Stablecoin transfers remain on familiar rails without entering a shared privacy pool | Regulatory treatment varies, and some exchanges or financial service providers restrict privacy-focused assets |
| Records and reconciliation | The sender can retain a private receipt denominated in the stablecoin actually paid | Real-world accounting may require extra conversion, valuation, and transaction records |
Privacy coins remain useful when both parties already want to live in that ecosystem. Mirage is intended for cases where the transfer needs privacy but should still arrive as a familiar stablecoin on an EVM network.
Stealth addresses
Stealth addresses are complementary to Mirage, not a direct replacement. They automate the creation of a fresh receiving address. That is useful address hygiene, similar in effect to manually rotating addresses, but it solves a narrower problem.
| Consideration | Mirage | Stealth address |
|---|---|---|
| Existing address | The recipient can receive at an address they already use | The recipient receives through a newly derived one-time address |
| What is hidden | Designed to prevent publication of a direct sender-to-recipient transaction relationship | Hides the recipient's primary public address, but the sender, amount, token, and timing may remain visible around the one-time address |
| Liquidity management | Funds arrive where the recipient already keeps and uses them | Balances can become distributed across many addresses and may need consolidation |
| Wallet requirements | Does not require the recipient to adopt a new address-scanning flow | Requires compatible wallets, scanning keys, and recovery support |
Address rotation is still good practice. Mirage simply avoids making it a requirement for receiving privately.
Centralized exchanges
A centralized exchange can obscure transfers from public-chain observers when activity stays inside its internal ledger. The cost is that the exchange becomes the custodian and learns the complete transaction history.
| Consideration | Mirage | Centralized exchange |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | You keep control of your wallet and authorize the escrow transaction yourself | You transfer control of funds to the exchange |
| Identity | Protocol use does not require opening an exchange account | Account creation normally requires KYC and ongoing platform monitoring |
| Transfer flow | Send from your wallet to the recipient's wallet | Deposit, wait for confirmation, trade if needed, select a network, and withdraw |
| DeFi access | Funds remain in the onchain environment | Funds cannot participate in DeFi while held on the exchange |
| Fees | Costs are quoted for the transfer flow | Deposit, trading, spread, and withdrawal fees vary by platform, asset, and network |
| Control and access | Settlement follows onchain rules and the sender can recover an unaccepted escrow | Withdrawals can be delayed, limited, reviewed, or paused by the platform |
An exchange may be appropriate when you already need its trading or fiat services. Using one only to hide a transfer means accepting custody, identity collection, and platform risk for a privacy benefit that does not extend to the exchange itself.
The practical difference
Mirage is built for a specific job: send a familiar stablecoin from self-custody, keep the sender-recipient relationship from being directly published onchain, and let the recipient receive funds normally. It does this without a shared pool, a new privacy asset, mandatory address rotation, or an exchange account.
No privacy system removes every signal. Amounts, timing, token transfers, and ordinary blockchain activity can still be public. Mirage changes how those signals connect while preserving the familiar transfer experience.