Dusting Attack

1 min read

Pronunciation

[duh-sting uh-tak]

Analogy

Like sprinkling a fine powder on multiple footprints to trace where each person walks.

Definition

A privacy attack where an adversary sends tiny amounts of (dust) to many addresses, then tracks spending patterns to de‑anonymize users by linking addresses.

Key Points Intro

Dusting attacks compromise anonymity by tagging UTXOs.

Key Points

Dust distribution: Sends minimal-value outputs to target addresses.

Transaction tracing: Monitors when dust moves to link addresses.

Clustering: Joins multiple addresses into a single identity cluster.

Mitigation: Wallets ignore dust or consolidate with privacy techniques.

Example

An attacker sends 1 to thousands of addresses; when victims spend that dust, on‑chain analysis reveals clusters of addresses belonging to the same user.

Technical Deep Dive

Adversary uses monitoring to detect dust spends and applies graph analysis (address clustering, change detection) to infer relationships. Countermeasures include filters that refuse dust UTXOs.

Security Warning

Even tiny amounts can erode privacy; use coin‑control features and avoid spending unsolicited dust.

Caveat

Dust filtering may lock out legitimate small payments; balance privacy with usability.

Related Terms

UTXO

CoinJoin

Mempool

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Glossary

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