How a run works
Seal the exit, open the window, settle or roll over.
01
SEC-01
Premise
Dozens of new apps claim to break the link between wallets, and users have no way to check them. Some leave a trail that a patient tracer can follow in minutes. A broken privacy tool is worse than none, because it gives false confidence.
MethodEach run sends real money through a named privacy tool and seals the exit address as a hash. Hunters pay an entry to find it, and every day nobody does is added to the tool's record.
Days Untraced
FIG.01 · The board's one number
A tool earns it by surviving open hunts with money on the line, not from an editorial score.
02
SEC-02
How a run works
02.1
Sealed exit
The operator funds a test wallet, sends it through the named tool the way the tool's own docs recommend, and locks hash(exit address + salt) in the run contract on Base. The run scripts are published, so anyone can attack the method too.
02.2
Commit, then reveal
While the window is open, hunters pay an entry and commit hash(guess + salt). Guesses only open after the window closes, so nobody can copy a lead.
02.3
Settle or roll over
The operator reveals the exit and the contract checks it against the hash. Hunters who guessed right split the pot. If nobody did, the pot rolls into the next run and the tool's survival days grow.
Pot · Rollover
02.4
The board
Each tool shows its runs, days untraced, largest pot survived and hunters entered. A bot posts every crack and every survival milestone to X and Telegram.
Record
02.5
Who gets tested
Privacy projects pay a listing fee in USDC to be put on the board. The treasury also pays for runs on the most-used tools that have not listed, so the board is not just the tools confident enough to apply.
Listing
FIG.02 · Run feed, sample
Run <n> · Tool <tool>Exit 0x…
Commit
Commit locked. Your guess stays sealed until the window closes.
Reveal
Reveal rejected: hash(guess + salt) does not match your commit. Check the salt you saved.
Settle
<tool> run settled. Nobody found the exit before the window closed. The pot rolls into the next run and the days untraced keep counting.
03
SEC-03
$COLD
$COLD
TickerGame token
TypeBase
ChainFair launch
MechanicWin to earn
HoldingTBL.03 · Token spec
| Ticker | $COLD |
|---|---|
| Type | Season currency for entries and pots. |
| Chain | Base for the run contract. Runs can target tools on any chain, because the commitment is only a hash of the exit address. |
| Launch | Fair launch on a bonding curve. No team presale. |
| Season-1 seed | A fixed share is locked in the contract to seed season-1 pots. |
| Settlement | Entries and pots in $COLD or USDC. |
| Protocol fee | 5% of each settled pot buys $COLD back. |
| Supply | Fixed. |
| Earning | Only by winning a hunt. There is no reward for simply playing. |
| Listings | Privacy projects pay in USDC. The treasury funds unpaid runs on the most-used tools. |
04
SEC-04
Why now
Elysium mainnet opens on Nov 9 with at least two privacy tokens, in the same week as a run of other new tools that claim to break the link between wallets. A $100 Zcash 'trace me' bet has already been cracked from timing alone. A tool's first weeks are when a public hunt tells its users the most.
Nov 9, 2026
Trigger
Elysium mainnet opens. At least two privacy tokens launch with it. Their first weeks are the best time to run hunts on them.
About Mar 2027
Pencilled
Monero FCMP++ mainnet activation. No official date yet. It sets up a before-and-after test of ring signatures against full-chain proofs.
Jul 2027
Rule change
EU AMLR exchange ban. More holders move to self-custody tools, which raises the cost of picking a broken one.
05
SEC-05
Risks
05.1What if the operator leaks the exit?
Then the run is void. The operator holds the answer until the reveal, so a leak or collusion could drain the pot. The operator is the tool's own team or a bonded third party, pots per run are capped, and entry fees roll into the next pot instead of paying the current winners. That lowers the payoff of a leak. It does not remove it.
05.2Does surviving mean a tool is safe?
No. Surviving one window is evidence, not proof. The board reports runs, days untraced, largest pot and hunters entered. The plain reading of a long streak is "not traced yet".
05.3Won't only confident tools pay to list?
Weak tools have no reason to pay the listing fee. The treasury pays for runs on the most-used tools that have not listed. Without those runs the board would turn into a marketing badge.
05.4Is a scripted wallet a fair test?
Not exactly. A scripted wallet can be easier or harder to trace than a real user. Each run follows the tool's own docs, including amount splitting and delays. The scripts and the method are published so they can be challenged.
05.5Does this train people to trace Monero and Zcash users?
The concern is fair. Runs only use the operator's own consenting test funds, and Coldtrail never traces any other wallet. After a run, only aggregate lessons are published.
05.6What happens when the best tools stop getting cracked?
Wins get rare and the feed goes quiet. The honest steady state is a slow reference board. Rollover pots have to keep growing for hunters to keep entering.
05.7Is listing a tool legal everywhere?
Unresolved. In jurisdictions hostile to privacy tools, listing one could be read as promoting it. Check the rules where you live before you take part.
05.8What is still open?
There is no live board yet and no run has settled. The pot cap and the per-tool run scripts are not published. This page describes a concept build. It is not financial or tax advice.
06
SEC-06
The board
FIG.06 · Board schema
Columns as the board will show them. No run has settled, so every value is empty.
| Tool | Runs | Days untraced | Largest pot survived | Hunters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <tool> | — | — | — $COLD | — |
| <tool> | — | — | — USDC | — |
| <tool> | — | — | — | — |
Sorted by days untraced
