Monero (XMR) is one of the world's first privacy coins. This unique cryptocurrency has pioneered multiple technologies to accomplish this important task. Today, privacy is more important than ever. As a result, Monero is also one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the planet.
What is Monero?
Monero is the crypto market's answer to Bitcoin's lack of privacy. For a long time, people believed that Bitcoin transactions were anonymous. By now, most people understand that this is not the case. In fact, there are many tools and services available to uncover who is behind a particular Bitcoin transaction.
Monero takes a different approach to the market. This coin takes privacy as a key element. This strategy continues to make Monero a top coin for those who want to maintain privacy within the sector. In fact, the anonymization protocols found in Monero are so effective that people often use them to obfuscate ownership of other cryptocurrencies.
Advanced encryption
Monero utilizes advanced encryption features so that no one can link you to your Monero cryptocurrency transactions. Interestingly, this technology allows the Monero blockchain to send and receive transactions in a way that does not directly expose data to bystanders. Don't forget that Monero's blockchain is also subject to real-time monitoring similar to Bitcoin via block explorers.
Binance Monero trading window
Monero developers were able to accomplish this monumental task through the integration of advanced alternative protocols. Fungibility is an important feature for most cryptocurrencies. Substitutability is the ability to exchange a good or asset for another individual good or asset of the same type.
For example, most goods such as oil, wheat, and gold are fungible. Just because you own 1000 gallons of oil doesn't mean you have to receive the exact gallons you originally owned. Since the oil holds exactly the same value, you only need to receive the same amount of oil. Importantly, cash is fungible. That's what makes tracking cash transactions so difficult in the real world.
true substitutability
Monero takes fungibility a step further. Fiat currencies, such as the US dollar, contain some form of identifying mark, such as a serial number. This data allows governments and other stakeholders to essentially track the history of specific bills. If an organization notes the serial number before a transaction, it can later verify that the note is accurate.
Monero takes fungibility a step further. There is no way to determine which Monero was included in which transaction. There are no serial numbers and all transactions are strictly anonymous. In this way, Monero offers the world a new level of privacy never before imagined.
Monero history
Monero's history begins in 2012. At this point, the concept of privacy coins was just beginning to enter the market. People started noticing:In the digital economy, privacy equals freedom” So Monero’s journey begins with another project known as Bytecoin.
Bytecoin
Bytecoin was revolutionary for multiple reasons. Primarily, it was the first digital currency written using a technology called CryptoNote. CryptoNote combined multiple keys in a single transaction, making it more difficult to determine who sent what and where. The concept of grouping public keys was unheard of at the time. CryptoNote technology is currently the backbone of most privacy-based cryptocurrencies on the market.
Although Bytecoin's concept was a huge success, there were other aspects of the coin's launch strategy that didn't work. Specifically, there was a disagreement between developers regarding the initial distribution of coins. Ultimately, Bytecoin issued 80% of its coins at launch. This decision split the Bytecoin camp and led to the creation of another privacy coin, Bitmonero.
A total of seven high-level blockchain developers participated in the Bitmonero project. Of these seven, he is the only one whose identity is known to the public. The main developer of this project is Riccardo Spagni (fluffy pony). The development team also included long-time cryptocurrency enthusiast David Latapy. Shortly after launching a new platform, developersa bitFrom the title, enter “” and simply “Monero” as the project name. In particular, Monero is “coinin Esperanto.
How Monero works
Monero is a permissionless, open source blockchain. The platform can remain private as the technology can be updated continuously. Interestingly, Monero's software is updated every six months. In this way, developers can introduce advances in cryptography. Here are some of the technologies that make Monero great.
ring signature
Ring signatures are a revolutionary advance in cryptographic anonymity. This protocol combines the sender's digital signature with the signatures of other users. This system adds her 10 signatures to every transaction group. All signatures are then mixed together before being officially entered into the blockchain.
In particular, the concept of Ring Signatures continues to evolve. Previously, developers had experimented with changing the number of signatures included in this mixing process. There was even a brief period where users could decide how many signatures to mix on a transaction basis.
stealth address
Another core technology behind Monero is stealth addresses. This protocol exposes one address that automatically creates multiple one-time accounts for each transaction. The user's wallet then scans the blockchain with reference to the password, called the view key, to identify transactions associated with its existence.
ring CT
In 2017, Monero's development team introduced another innovative technology called RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions). This coding hides the exact amount of his XMR users exchanged in a transaction before it can be reviewed on the blockchain. To achieve this, the protocol introduces multiple inputs and outputs to a transaction. Combined with stealth addresses and ring signatures, the three technologies make Monero nearly impossible to track.
dynamic scalability
Another big advantage that Monero brings to the market is unlimited scalability. Scalability is the ability of a currency to handle more users in the future. In the past, Bitcoin has experienced scalability issues that have caused network lag and fees to skyrocket. At the time, Bitcoin was unable to meet scalability requirements for various reasons. Basically, it can only process transaction blocks up to 1MB.
Conversely, Monero does not have a preset block size. Miners can decide how big a block of transactions they want to approve. However, recently the developers introduced a block reward penalty system. The penalty takes into account the median size of the last 100 blocks. If the next block is larger than this sum, the penalty will reduce the mining reward for that block. This strategy aims to stop nodes from entering spam into the blockchain.
kryptonite
CryptoNite revolutionizes the way miners participate in the market. Unlike Bitcoin, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) are of little use. Remarkably, Monero can be mined profitably using both CPU and GPU. The CryptoNight consensus mechanism prevents centralization in the mining sector. In this way, Monero may become more decentralized than Bitcoin in the future.
multiple keys
Monero uses key combinations to make the network function anonymously. Specifically, Monero introduces public view keys, private view keys, and both public and private spending keys. Private spending keys are used to create outgoing transactions. Private view keys, on the other hand, allow users to check the blockchain to confirm that they have received funds. A public expenditure key is also required to verify the signature and stealth public key.
Total supply XMR
There are currently 17,669,037 XMRs in circulation. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Monero's total supply is not set in advance. Instead, the developer has chosen to increase the total amount of coins by 0.87% in the first year. This percentage decreases each year. At this rate, it will take another 115 years for Monero to double its current supply.
XMR via CoinMarketCap
How to buy Monero (XMR)
Monero (XMR) can be purchased at the following exchanges:
Kraken – Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the most trusted names in the industry with over 9 million users and over $207 billion in quarterly trading volume.
The Kraken exchange offers trading access to over 190 countries, including Australia, Canada, and Europe, and is the most recommended exchange for residents of the United States and Canada. (Excludes New York and Washington states)
KuCoin – This exchange currently offers cryptocurrency trading for over 300 other popular tokens. In many cases, we will be the first to offer you the opportunity to purchase new tokens. US residents are prohibited.
Gate.io – This exchange was founded in 2013 and is one of the most popular and reputable exchanges. Gate.io currently accepts most international jurisdictions, including: Australia & England. Residents of the United States and Canada are prohibited.
WazirX – This exchange guarantees a high standard of quality and Indian resident.
How to store Monero (XMR)
If you are looking to invest a large amount in XMR or plan to hold this cryptocurrency for a long time, a hardware wallet is your best option. Hardware wallets store your cryptocurrencies offline.Refrigerated.This strategy makes it impossible for online threats to access your holdings. The Ledger Nano S or the more advanced Ledger Nano X both support Monero (XMR).
privacy coin
Monero showed the world the importance of privacy coins. As a result, it helped spark an explosion of privacy coins. Notably, there are currently over 63 different privacy coins available for trading on the market. Amazingly, these projects are worth more than $2 billion.
Privacy coin backlash
As you can imagine, not everyone buys into the concept of private transactions. Recently, the IRS has poured millions of dollars into developing a system to identify these individuals. Recent posts on the government's official contracting website indicate that the IRS' Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is hiring multiple private contractors to increase transparency in privacy coin transactions .
Monero is catching on in other parts of the world as well. Last week, Russian regulators announced that they had successfully launched a prototype blockchain tracking system that can unravel the security protocols of both Monero and DASH. Regulators claimed the software was necessary to combat drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
Monero of the future
Despite the fact that governments are not big fans of anonymous transactions, this cryptocurrency still has great appeal. Three weeks ago, in an interview with Coinbase CEO Peter McCormick, brian armstrong It has been revealed that US regulators have blocked the exchange from listing XMR. Armstrong noted that other non-US-based exchanges, such as Binance, have successfully offered the coin.
Every industry has platforms that understand the needs of their users and prioritize them over all other concerns. In the cryptocurrency industry, that coin is XMR. Monero continues to provide the world with a secure and anonymous way for world powers to protect their privacy. In this way, Monero takes a real risk to give users more freedom, and for that they deserve gratitude.
