1
How It Works
- You want to pay a merchant 0.001 BTC
- Instead of a simple send, both you AND the merchant add inputs
- The transaction has multiple inputs and outputs
- An observer cannot tell who paid whom or how much changed hands
Privacy
Understanding Payjoin
A privacy technique built into payments — harder to detect than CoinJoin, great for everyday use.
⏱ 4 min read
Payjoin (also called P2EP — Pay-to-EndPoint) is a way to make a **normal-looking payment** that also improves privacy for both sender and receiver. Regular bitcoin payments are easy to analyze: - One input → one or two outputs = probably a payment - Blockchain analysts use these patterns to track people
Before you start
- One input → one or two outputs = probably a payment
- Blockchain analysts use these patterns to track people
2
Who Supports Payjoin?
- Sparrow Wallet — sender and receiver
- BTCPay Server — popular with merchants
- Wasabi Wallet — sender side
- Growing support across the ecosystem
3
Payjoin vs CoinJoin
| CoinJoin | Payjoin | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Dedicated mixing session | During a real payment |
| Detectability | Sometimes flagged by exchanges | Looks more like normal activity |
| Best for | Breaking old links | Everyday payments with privacy |
| Setup | Whirlpool, Wasabi | Sparrow + Payjoin-enabled receiver |
4
Trying Payjoin
As a sender (Sparrow):
- Open Sparrow → Send tab
- Enter amount and recipient address
- If the receiver supports Payjoin, Sparrow offers a Payjoin button
- Confirm the transaction details
As a receiver:
- Run BTCPay Server or use a Payjoin-compatible wallet
- Share your Payjoin-enabled payment link
5
Limitations
- Both sender and receiver need compatible software
- Not yet universal — many merchants do not support it
- Still a learning curve for beginners
✅ Key takeaway
Payjoin is privacy you can use in real payments without a separate mixing step. Learn CoinJoin first, then explore Payjoin when paying privacy-conscious merchants or friends who use Sparrow or BTCPay.