Shellfire

Would you like to use our VPN service to surf the Internet anonymously and securely, even on public WiFi networks or in geo-blocked locations? Privacy need not stop here, because when you purchase a VPN you can easily do something during the payment process to protect your private data as much as possible.

In this article, we’d like to demonstrate how you can pay for a VPN anonymously with various cryptocurrencies and what you need to pay attention to in order to remain truly anonymous throughout the process.

Which cryptocurrencies can be used to pay for Shellfire VPN?

Shellfire works with CoinPayments.net to allow you to pay for your VPN with most of today’s popular cryptocurrencies.

These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DASH), Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), and even Dogecoin (DOGE).

For a list of all the coins you can currently use to pay for your VPN, check out this link: https://www.coinpayments.net/supported-coins

Are cryptocurrencies really that private?

At this point, it should be mentioned that not all cryptocurrencies offer the same level of security. In many cases it is quite possible, albeit not without a lot of effort, to finds out who has carried out a Bitcoin transaction. However, any cryptocurrency offers a greater degree of anonymity other payment methods such as  traditional bank transfers, credit cards or PayPal.

If anonymity is particularly important to you when purchasing your VPN, it is advisable to use a cryptocurrency created specifically for that purpose.

Which cryptocurrencies offer the highest level of security? Can you use these to pay for VPN service as well?

Monero, Zcash, DASH (with the PrivateSend feature activated), Verge, Horizen and Beam offer significantly more secure than Bitcoin and Ethereium. Our partner CoinPayments supports all of the abovementioned cryptocurrencies, so the choice is yours.

What to do if you don’t own cryptocurrency yet?

If you don’t posses any cryptocurrencies yet or are generally not familiar with the topic, don’t panic—in the end, the process isn’t that complicated.

A quick summary of the process:

1. Create a wallet for the cryptocurrency of your choice. You can imagine this as something like a virtual wallet. The easiest way—but also the least secure—is via an exchange. Some important and well-known providers in this segment are, for example, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken und Bitpanda.
2. Purchase enough units of the cryptocurrency you want to pay with in the exchange. Once the purchase is completed, the corresponding amount of cryptocurrency will appear directly in your wallet.
3. Choose the Shellfire VPN deal that appeals to you the most.
4. Then, at checkout, simply select that cryptocurrency payment option. You will then be redirected to our partner CoinPayments, who will handle the rest of the process.

You can see how a cryptocurrency payment generally works in this video:

Is it legal to purchase a VPN service anonymously?

Yes, because just as you can remain anonymous at a bakery by paying in cash, you can also remain anonymous online by choosing to pay with cryptocurrency.

Also, payment via cryptocurrency itself is perfectly legal.

What other aspects should be considered when purchasing a VPN to remain anonymous?

Even though good VPN providers, such as Shellfire, don’t use log files and thus already make an important contribution to protecting user privacy; in order to remain truly anonymous when purchasing your VPN and elsewhere, this alone is insufficient.

Be aware that all data you provide during registration will inevitably be stored somewhere.

For example, does your email address contain your zip code or any other element that could allude to your identity? Does your email address consist of elements of your first or last name?

In such cases, you should first consider creating a new email address that promises more anonymity. Then you can start thinking about how you can carry out the actual payment process as securely as possible.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies are perhaps the fastest and easiest way to remain anonymous when paying for a VPN service these days.

However, it is important that the VPN provider, such as Shellfire, offers an option for payment via cryptocurrency. Also, you should ensure you’re using a cryptocurrency that offers the level of anonymity best suited to your needs.

Lastly, be aware that the payment process of your VPN is only one small component to the overall goal of maintaining your privacy. Your behavior and your own handling of your personal data, as well as a VPN service without log files, are also crucial.

Featured image: melpomen/123RF