{"id":3567,"date":"2019-01-09T05:10:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T13:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?p=3567"},"modified":"2019-01-09T06:14:38","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T14:14:38","slug":"what-is-monero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-monero\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Monero (XMR)? | An In-Depth Guide to the Privacy Coin"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>\u00a0What Is Monero?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero, a fork of Bytecoin, is a secure, private, and untraceable currency,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">built on the Cryptonote protocol using Ring Signatures. Proof of Work mechanism called CryptoNight issues new coins which incentivize miners to secure the network and validate transactions.\u00a0Originally launched in April 2014 as BitMonero, Monero (symbol XMR), means money in Esperanto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/files.coinmarketcap.com\/static\/widget\/currency.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"coinmarketcap-currency-widget\" data-currencyid=\"328\" data-base=\"USD\" data-secondary=\"\" data-ticker=\"true\" data-rank=\"true\" data-marketcap=\"true\" data-volume=\"true\" data-stats=\"USD\" data-statsticker=\"false\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public and hidden Monero ledger\u00a0allows anyone to send and receive transactions privately. This means no outside observer would know the sender, amount, or destination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Monero and it&#8217;s community stand by three key values:<\/strong> <em>(1) Security, (2) Privacy and (3) Decentralization<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/resources\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Monero website<\/a> elaborates further:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><b>Security<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users must be able to trust Monero with their transactions, without risk of error or attack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Privacy<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero takes privacy seriously. Monero needs to be able to protect users in a court of law and, in extreme cases, from the death penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Decentralization<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero is committed to providing the maximum amount of decentralization.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In this Monero guide, we cover everything you need to know, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#how-does-monero-work\">How Does Monero Work?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#the-problem-with-bitcoin\">The Problem With Bitcoin<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#monero-vs-bitcoin\">Monero vs. Bitcoin<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#bytecoin-fork\">Bytecoin Fork<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#monero-team\">Monero Team<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#monero-technology\">Monero Technology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#competition\">Competition<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#kovri\">Kovri<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#monero-forks\">Monero Forks<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#weaknesses\">Critiques, Weaknesses, and Concerns<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#accomplishments\">Accomplishments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#roadmap\">Roadmap<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#trading\">Trading<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-buy-mine-xmr\">How to Buy and Mine XMR<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-store-xmr\">How to Store XMR<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#additional-monero-resources\">Additional Monero Resources<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"how-does-monero-work\">How Does Monero Work?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero is based on an application level cryptographic protocol focused on privacy called Ring Signatures. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ring Signatures were originally proposed at a 2001 Cryptography conference in Queensland, Australia. The authors of Ring Signatures include Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Yael Tauman. Ring Signatures are the core mechanism behind how Monero transactions are structured after being broadcasted from the wallet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core use case behind Monero is how transactions are not linkable or traceable because of stealth addresses. This protects sender and receivers while also allowing selective observation of transactions through a public\/private view key construct in addition to normal private\/public keys (more on this later). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero has a variable block limit which allows flexibility in data management (block sizes) and scalability. It needs this in great part due to its architecture. Privacy requires more cryptography and data around transactions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, Monero uses ring signatures, ring confidential transactions (RCT), and stealth addresses to obfuscate transactions at the protocol level to protect both senders and receivers from eavesdropping while still allowing transactions to be validated by a third party if desired.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Technical Details<\/h3>\n<p><b>Launched:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> April 14, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Total coin supply:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Initially 18.4 million coins (After this, there will be a permanently fixed production of 0.3 XMR per minute to balance out lost coins per year)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Algorithm:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Proof of Work (PoW) using CryptoNight<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Block reward:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Smoothly varying<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Block time:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 120 seconds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Difficulty:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Retargets at every block<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-problem-with-bitcoin\">The Problem With Bitcoin<\/h2>\n<p>Fungibility allows you to exchange the same type of a good or asset with another. This implies equal value between the goods and assets. For example, you could trade one silver eagle coin for another one silver eagle coin (indicating the same value between the two coins).<\/p>\n<p><em>But, what if you couldn&#8217;t trade your silver coin for another because that silver coin was used in illegal activity?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is the exact conundrum that Bitcoin faces due to its completely transparent architecture. If some agency\u00a0decided a certain Bitcoin transaction was used for illegal purposes, it would threaten the ability for that Bitcoin to be acceptable as a fungible currency.<\/p>\n<p>This is a mission-critical construct to something being considered &#8220;money&#8221; and is disconcerting to see Bitcoin underfire. Luckily, Monero aims to fix this problem through baked in and coded privacy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15128\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15128\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15128\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible.jpg\" alt=\"Dilbert with Dogbert comic strip about fungibility\" width=\"750\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible.jpg 750w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible-591x269.jpg 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible-621x282.jpg 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible-610x277.jpg 610w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dilbert-060219_fungible-600x273.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15128\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dogbert knows what&#8217;s up. | Dilbert \u00a9 2006 Scott Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"monero-vs-bitcoin\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/monero-vs-bitcoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Monero vs. Bitcoin<\/a><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-bitcoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitcoin\u2019s<\/a> big downfalls is the lack of flexibility for the implementation of new features, which require almost complete network updating. (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.bitcoin.it\/wiki\/Block_size_limit_controversy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we have seen with the blocksize debate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes hard-coded constraints and natural elements of the design (such as block frequency, the maximum amount of money supply, and the number of confirmations required). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The traceability of transaction amounts, as well as the sender\/receiver, is publicly viewable automatically with Bitcoin unless specific steps are taken by the user. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proof of work algorithm (PoW) has also violated the original Satoshi vision of \u201cone-CPU-one-vote\u201d with the advent of GPU and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) hardware. This allows those miners to gain majority control (51%+) over the network and govern changes. (Like a fork, to keep the network going.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Irregular emission refers to the construct where the Bitcoin rewards are halved every 4 years. The original intent was to create limited smooth emission with exponent decay. (More predictable not choppy pattern) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, we have a piecewise linear emission (as pictured below) which creates the opportunity for a double spend attack. This is due to the network hash rate decrease at each halving. Note the \u201cstairwell\u201d like moves.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3578\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3578\" style=\"width: 661px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3578 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-661x450.png\" alt=\"Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Chart\" width=\"661\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-661x450.png 661w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-591x402.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-621x423.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-600x408.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease-300x204.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/BitcoinDiffIncrease.png 711w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3578\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bitcoin&#8217;s difficulty adjustments aren&#8217;t smooth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"bytecoin-fork\">Bytecoin Fork<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bytecoin-beginner-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bytecoin<\/a> is the first known implementation of the CryptoNote protocol with code produced entirely from scratch. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, why was Monero needed if there was already an implementation of this?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Well, as always with crypto, prepare for some drama.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3579\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3579\" style=\"width: 719px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3579 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor.png\" alt=\"Monero subreddit\" width=\"719\" height=\"182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor.png 719w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor-591x150.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor-621x157.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor-600x152.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MoneroRumor-300x76.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bytecoin may have been premined.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Monero\/comments\/26we1g\/why_monero_and_not_bytecoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As elaborated in this Monero subreddit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from three years ago, there was not only a Bytecoin premine but also a falsifying of the blockchain to show a fair distribution. Then, there were two years of \u201ccrippled\u201d code that could have been improved but was not. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/introduceyourself\/@fluffypony\/what-s-up-steemit-people-i-m-riccardo-fluffypony-spagni-from-the-monero-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ricardo Spagni aka \u201cFluffypony\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said the Monero team fixed these problems in a few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"monero-team\">Monero Team<\/h2>\n<p>Per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getmonero.org\/community\/team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">team section<\/a>\u00a0on the Monero website, the core team includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fluffypony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Riccardo Spagni aka &#8220;Fluffy pony&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/ArticMine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Francisco &#8220;ArticMine&#8221; Cabanas<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/smooth_xmr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">smooth<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/othexmr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">othe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/NoodleDoodle_xmr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NoodleDoodle<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/cloud10again\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">luigi1111<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/binaryFate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">binaryFate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition, there have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openhub.net\/p\/monero\/contributors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over 30 developers and 420 contributors<\/a> over the life of the project. As Monero is focused on privacy, it&#8217;s no surprise that many team members choose to stay anonymous<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"monero-technology\">Monero Technology<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main tech behind Monero is a balance of allowing you to control your keys and operate privately with proven security mechanisms while also allowing malleability and development in the network. (E.g. variable block size, integration of Kovri)<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3581\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3581\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3581 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/NormalTransBtc.png\" alt=\"How a normal (not fully anonymous) transaction works\" width=\"585\" height=\"133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/NormalTransBtc.png 585w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/NormalTransBtc-300x68.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 585px) 100vw, 585px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How a normal (not fully anonymous) transaction works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The default set-up for Bitcoin transactions is completely transparent and pseudonymous if steps are not taken to obscure one\u2019s identity and transactions (e.g. a VPN and mixing services). This means your IP address can be connected to your device (i.e. personal identity) with enough resources dedicated to connecting the two.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Ring Signatures Hide Transactions<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ring Signatures are digital signatures where several signers sign a transaction. <\/span><b>Think:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> signing with a joint account but with no one knowing the true signer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sender generates a one-time spend key and the recipient is the only party that can detect and spend the money based on that key. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key images, cryptographic keys, are derived from each output being spent and prevent double spending. This is because there\u2019s one key image per output (expenditure) on the Blockchain.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3580\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3580\" style=\"width: 573px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3580 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingSigxmr.png\" alt=\"Ring Signature Transactions include multiple signers, unknown to outside observers\" width=\"573\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingSigxmr.png 573w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingSigxmr-572x140.png 572w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingSigxmr-300x73.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3580\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ring Signature Transactions include multiple signers, unknown to outside observers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A ring signature uses your account keys and selected public keys from the blockchain to form a &#8220;ring&#8221; of possible signers. The main security property of a ring signature is that it makes it impossible to see which group members&#8217; keys produced the signature.<\/p>\n<p>No outside observer can match signers in the ring ensuring that transaction outputs are untraceable. In addition, fungibility remains as the network does not know spent amounts (despite being able to validate a real transaction took place).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I&#8217;m excited to see progress on Confidential Transactions. Fungibility is the only feature of good money that Bitcoin\/Litecoin is missing.<\/p>\n<p>I look forward to adding this to Litecoin when it is ready. ???? And this can be done with a soft fork. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlie Lee [LTC\u26a1] (@SatoshiLite) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SatoshiLite\/status\/930343030342561792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Ring Confidential Transactions (RCT) Hide the Amount Sent<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sender can reveal just enough information for the miners to confirm the transaction without disclosing publicly the total amount spent. (Known as a \u201ccommit\u201d) This allows the transaction to prove its authenticity without losing privacy as a user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The network encrypts the amount of each output and includes it in the transaction. The amount\u00a0encrypted by the sender uses a shared secret built into the transaction computed by combining the recipient&#8217;s private view key with the transaction public view key (which is built in the transaction)<\/p>\n<p>Third parties will not be able to view the amount based on this construct of Ring Confidential Transactions (RCT)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15125\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15125\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15125 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs.png\" alt=\"RingCT outputs\" width=\"614\" height=\"364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs.png 614w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs-591x350.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs-610x362.png 610w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RingCToutputs-600x356.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15125\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">RingCT outputs are now mandatory as of September 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Stealth Addresses Protect Senders and Receivers<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ww.getmonero.org\/resources\/moneropedia\/stealthaddress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moneropedia<\/a> sheds light on this construct which protects senders and recipients from outside observers:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Stealth addresses are an important part of Monero&#8217;s inherent privacy. They allow and require the sender to create random one-time addresses for every transaction on behalf of the recipient.<\/p>\n<p>By using stealth addresses, only the sender and receiver can determine where a payment was sent.<\/p>\n<p>When you create a Monero account you\u2019ll have a private view key, a private spend key, and a Public Address. You use he spend key to send payments, the view key to display incoming transactions, and the Public Address to receive payments. Both the spend key and view key contribute to building your Monero address. You can have a \u201cwatch only\u201d wallet that only uses the view key.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A stealth address ultimately prevents\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recipient&#8217;s funds being linked with their wallet. However, a 3rd party can audit that address to prove the transaction occurred. (By the sender sharing their public view key)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recipient gets their funds through their wallets private view key which scans the blockchain. Once detected and retrieved by the wallet, a single-use private key is created corresponding with senders public key.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recipient can now spend those funds using their private spend key. This occurs without the sender or recipient wallets, nor the amount transacted publicly linked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15129\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15129\" style=\"width: 799px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15129\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-799x450.png\" alt=\"From BCHGraz - Meetup #9 - Monero by Justin Ehrenhofer\" width=\"799\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-799x450.png 799w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-591x333.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-621x350.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-610x344.png 610w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/StealthAddressesbyJustinG.png 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How Stealth Addresses protect Senders and Receivers\u00a0| Source: Justin Ehrenhofer, Slideshare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>How Monero Transactions Work<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This process is very succinctly explained in this <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcointalk.org\/index.php?topic=583449.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monero Bitcointalk thread<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (numbers go with a picture below):<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBob decides to spend an output, which was sent to the one-time public key. He needs Extra <\/span><\/i><b><i>(1)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, TxOutNumber <\/span><\/i><b><i>(2)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and his Account private key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(3)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to recover his one-time private key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(4)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When sending a transaction to Carol, Bob generates its Extra value by random <\/span><\/i><b><i>(5)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He uses Extra <\/span><\/i><b><i>(6)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, TxOutNumber <\/span><\/i><b><i>(7)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Carol&#8217;s Account public key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(8)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to get her Output public key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(9)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the input, Bob hides the link to his output among the foreign keys (10). To prevent double-spending he also packs the Key image, derived from his One-time private key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(11)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, Bob signs the transaction, using his One-time private key <\/span><\/i><b><i>(12)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, all the public keys <\/span><\/i><b><i>(13)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Key Image <\/span><\/i><b><i>(14)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He appends the resulting Ring Signature to the end of the transaction <\/span><\/i><b><i>(15)<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3572\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3572\" style=\"width: 1857px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3572 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork.png\" alt=\"Example Monero Transaction\" width=\"1857\" height=\"884\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork.png 1857w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-591x281.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-621x296.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-600x286.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-768x366.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HowMoneroTransWork-874x416.png 874w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1857px) 100vw, 1857px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3572\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Example Monero Transaction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"competition\">Competition<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i>How does Monero compare with alternate privacy-focused solutions?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main point of differentiation with Monero is the CryptoNote implementation, which has been around since 2001 and has received significant peer-review around its functionality. (Traceable Ring signatures for example)<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3574\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3574\" style=\"width: 571px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3574\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3.png\" alt=\"How CryptoNote Works\" width=\"571\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3.png 675w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3-591x267.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3-621x281.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3-600x271.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CryptoNote_keystransmodelFig3-300x136.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How CryptoNote Works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>Two other implementations of privacy technology from other Cryptocurrencies include:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>ZeroCoin\/ZeroCash<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), this protocol obscures the sender and the entire economy. You wouldn&#8217;t know any exploits (such as creating false proofs\/spending) until much later due to the anonymous nature of the network. One of the biggest risks is the lack of maturity and peer review behind the cryptography. Also, ZKPs\u00a0rely on the creators of the initial RSA private key to destroy it. (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/petertodd.org\/2016\/cypherpunk-desert-bus-zcash-trusted-setup-ceremony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As supposedly done in this computer burning ceremony<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3571\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3571\" style=\"width: 707px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3571 \" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-874x415.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"707\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-874x415.png 874w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-591x281.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-621x295.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-600x285.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction-768x365.png 768w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zcash-transaction.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3571\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/ultimate-privacy-coin-monero-zcash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Monero vs Zcash<\/a>: ZCash transactions are based on a Zero-knowledge Security Layer (ZSK)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>CoinJoin<\/b> is a mixing protocol that combines transactions but does not mask users, senders, or transactions at a protocol level. Originally developed by bitcoin developer Gregory Maxwell, Coin Join is used by <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/what-is-dash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dash<\/a>, who leverages the Masternode (MN) model where users must possess 1000 DASH to host an MN. Critics say this creates a single point of failure as the individual nodes who provide the mixing service are <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sybil_attack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vulnerable to Sybil attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3573\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3573\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3573 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_.png\" alt=\"Monero vs Dash: Dash uses CoinJoin which mixes up transactions but does not provide protocol level protection of the sender and receivers\" width=\"640\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_.png 640w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_-591x231.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_-621x243.png 621w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_-600x234.png 600w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CoinJoinExample.svg_-300x117.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3573\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Monero vs Dash: Dash uses CoinJoin which mixes up transactions but does not provide protocol level protection of the sender and receivers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Edward Snowden recently asked Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, about Zcash vs Monero:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">All private transactions<br \/>\nMore tested privacy tech<br \/>\nNo tax on miners to pay investors<br \/>\nNo high inflation&#8230; better investment.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fluffypony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fluffypony<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlie Lee [LTC\u26a1] (@SatoshiLite) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SatoshiLite\/status\/913644791144919040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"kovri\">Kovri\u00a0(Based on I2P) Protects Users at a Protocol Level<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kovri is a free, decentralized, anonymous network layer developed by Monero that&#8217;s based on\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I2P\u2019s core specifications. I2P&#8217;s core architecture operates similarly to TOR (which uses onion) except with\u00a0Kovri\u00a0it uses garlic encryption and routing to create private, protected network access. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kovri\u00a0(with its garlic routing) takes things a step further than TOR by creating\u00a0an\u00a0anonymous, message-based overlay network of internet peers.\u00a0This overlay-network helps users to hide their geographical location and internet IP address thus making internet traffic anonymous.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8334\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8334\" style=\"width: 498px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Monero\/comments\/47p22k\/i2p_the_anonymity_network_explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8334\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/i2pPrivacyNetworkExplained.png\" alt=\"I2P Infographic of the privacy network\" width=\"498\" height=\"645\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/i2pPrivacyNetworkExplained.png 593w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/i2pPrivacyNetworkExplained-591x765.png 591w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/i2pPrivacyNetworkExplained-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/i2pPrivacyNetworkExplained-347x450.png 347w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8334\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I2P Explained<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"monero-forks\">How Monero Split Into Five Forks (Actually Six Now)<\/h2>\n<p>A recent discovery of secret ASIC manufacturing of Monero miners has prompted the coin to be broken into 6 different coins.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of discovering Monero ASIC manufacturing and secret mining (without the community&#8217;s knowledge), Monero decided to fork from its original algorithm due to the threat of centralized mining.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This prompted a bit of a &#8220;war against ASICs&#8221; by a community eager to preserve their core values of decentralization.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/monero-a-tale-of-five-forks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Covered more in-depth in this article<\/a>, Monero has split into six different coins. These new coins include: Monero 0 (XMZ), Monero Original (XMO), Monero Classic (XMC), Monero-Classic (yep, with a dash now), MoneroC\u00a0(CXMR), and just announced recently <a href=\"https:\/\/monerov.org\/\">MoneroV<\/a>\u00a0(XMV). The original Monero (XMR) still remains as well.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"weaknesses\">Critiques, Weaknesses, and Concerns<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it appears Monero has many accolades, what are some of its weaknesses? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Monero\/comments\/611jtu\/lets_talk_about_moneros_disadvantages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As discussed in this subreddit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> there are a few:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Privacy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; There\u2019s been the ability to track the IP address of the node that originated a transaction. This logging of IP addresses could cause the de-anonymization of users. That being said, the Monero development is constantly improving privacy functionality and has added certain Tor capabilities to mitigate this risk.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Mining Centralization<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The majority of Monero mining used to be dominated by four pools who each had no more than 20%. This centralization is no longer that case, but it is still a potential threat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Darkweb PR<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Although this is not a direct cause of the Monero team, it&#8217;s worth noting as the branding and public perception is always something to keep in mind and could slow adoption as people fear its use for illicit purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Transaction Size<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Monero transactions\u00a0are much larger than Bitcoin\u2019s, requiring more data and causing a larger blockchain that grows daily. Fortunately, Monero forked and <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/moneros-october-forking-bulletproofs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">implemented bulletproofs<\/a> in October 2018. With the implementation of bulletproofs, transaction sizes fell by up to 97 percent in some cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Development Difficulty<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The ability to incorporate with multi-coin wallets and other integrations that would make use more widespread have been slow.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Limited Merchant Tools<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The tools for merchants to integrate payments is difficult and hard to integrate at this time. However, there are more and more third-party services popping up to help remedy this.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[thrive_leads id=&#8217;5219&#8242;]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"accomplishments\">Accomplishments<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/2018\/10\/11\/monero-0.13.0-released.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Monero Transactions reduced by 97 percent<\/a><\/strong> &#8211;\u00a0A recent hard fork upgrade implemented &#8220;bulletproofs&#8221;, a cryptographic scheme that reduces the size and cost of transactions. As a result, Monero&#8217;s transaction fees shrank by 97 percent, dropping from $0.60 to just $0.02.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/resources\/moneropedia\/kovri.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kovri fork, creating more secure transactions with <\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/resources\/moneropedia\/kovri.html\"><strong>an I2P layer in C++<\/strong><\/a> &#8211; I2P, known as the Invisible Internet Project, is a TOR alternative which would add a secure layer for all transactions pushed to the network. This was implemented\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/forum.getmonero.org\/9\/work-in-progress\/86967\/anonimal-s-kovri-full-time-development-funding-thread\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">after user anonimal pleaded with the Monero community<\/a> who agreed to fund full-time development to make it a reality. (Gotta love crowdfunding)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/forum.getmonero.org\/7\/open-tasks\/88149\/dedicated-monero-hardware-wallet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Monero Hardware wallet released<\/a><\/strong><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; This project was organized and created as a funding mechanism in the Monero Forum Funding System (FFS)\u00a0community. Michael Schloh von Bennewitz, software and maker veteran, as well as anonimal, lead developer of Kovri, spearheaded the project. Ledger and Trezor have also added XMR support.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/info.shapeshift.io\/blog\/2017\/08\/08\/blog-2017-08-08-overstockcom-accepts-dozens-digital-assets-through-shapeshift-integration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">You can pay on Overstock with Monero<\/a><\/strong><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Thanks to Shapeshift and their API, Overstock now accepts Monero as well as several other altcoins. This shows further credibility to have the more mainstream adoption.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"roadmap\">Roadmap<\/h2>\n<p>Monero has one of the most active development teams in crypto, so you shouldn&#8217;t be surprised that the project&#8217;s milestones are constantly evolving. Right now, the only two action items on their public roadmap for 2019 are:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Second-layer scaling solutions<\/li>\n<li>Additional Monero Research Lab (MRL) research papers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Check the <a href=\"https:\/\/ww.getmonero.org\/resources\/roadmap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">project&#8217;s roadmap<\/a> regulularly to stay on top of what&#8217;s to come.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"trading\">Trading<\/h2>\n<p>Having started in 2014, XMR didn&#8217;t see any relatively large price action until August 2016. At that time, the price went nearly vertical, jumping from around $1.80 (~0.003 BTC) to $13.17 (~0.0217 BTC). In less than a month, the USD price increased over 600 percent. That initial meteoric rise was most likely due to the increased popularity of XMR on the dark web as well as the coin&#8217;s first appearance on mainstream media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Over its lifespan, the XMR price has ridden the typical rollercoaster of cryptocurrency prices. In the bull run of 2017 (RIP), the coin pulled a 10x to reach its all-time high of around $475.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\nbaseUrl = \"https:\/\/widgets.cryptocompare.com\/\";\nvar scripts = document.getElementsByTagName(\"script\");\nvar embedder = scripts[ scripts.length - 1 ];\n(function (){\nvar appName = encodeURIComponent(window.location.hostname);\nif(appName==\"\"){appName=\"local\";}\nvar s = document.createElement(\"script\");\ns.type = \"text\/javascript\";\ns.async = true;\nvar theUrl = baseUrl+'serve\/v3\/coin\/chart?fsym=XMR&tsyms=USD,EUR,CNY,GBP';\ns.src = theUrl + ( theUrl.indexOf(\"?\") >= 0 ? \"&\" : \"?\") + \"app=\" + appName;\nembedder.parentNode.appendChild(s);\n})();\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>As far as altcoins are concerned, XMR has done well. It tends to hold its value better than other coins during bear markets while still making significant strides during happier times.<\/p>\n<p>With governments and corporations increasingly infringing on personal privacy, Monero should see steady demand from people who want to maintain their financial anonymity. Beyond dark web users, this base includes anyone who doesn&#8217;t want their spending habits or personal balances broadcast on a public ledger or under the eyeballs of a sometimes nefarious third-party. The persistent demand should give the XMR price a healthy floor.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-buy-mine-xmr\">How to Buy and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/monero-mining\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mine XMR<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>You can purchase XMR on <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/binance-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Binance<\/a>\u00a0with either BTC or ETH. If you&#8217;re looking to buy XMR directly with fiat, <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/bitfinex-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitfinex<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/kraken-exchange-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kraken<\/a> are two additional options.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although originally challenged by pool centralization, the recent fork away from ASIC miners caused the Monero (XMR) original pools\u00a0hashrate\u00a0to drop by more than 50%. The threat of secret ASIC mining prompted this fork. As a result, Monero still remains as a GPU mineable coin on <a href=\"https:\/\/whattomine.com\/coins\/101-xmr-cryptonightv7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">What To Mine<\/a>. Additionally, you can find a list of mining pools\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/get-started\/mining\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-store-xmr\">How to Store XMR<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a variety of\u00a0desktop wallets for Monero with support on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/downloads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Linux, Mac, and Windows<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>On the hardcore developer side, there are\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/getmonero.org\/downloads\/#arm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Arm (v7 &amp; 8) OS<\/a> for chipsets used in mobile devices as well as a\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">source blockchain that allows you to procure a blockchain bootstrap from a raw file.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mobile and light wallets include Cake Wallet, Monerujo, and My Monero.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If the extra security of a hardware wallet is more your jam, <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/ledger-nano-s-wallet-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ledger<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/trezor-wallet-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trezor<\/a> both support XMR. Monero also has an internally-built wallet plan that was <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.getmonero.org\/9\/work-in-progress\/88149\/dedicated-monero-hardware-wallet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">funded by the community<\/a> and is currently in development.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15094\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15094\" style=\"width: 332px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15094 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/itshappeningcat.gif\" alt=\"Monero Cat\" width=\"332\" height=\"332\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15094\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Monero is indeed (and has been) happening.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Monero, a fork of Bytecoin, is a secure, private and untraceable currency. It utilizes the Cryptonote protocol alongside Ring Signatures, Ring Confidential Transaction and Stealth Addresses to protect user&#8217;s privacy.<\/p>\n<p>The Monero community follows three key values: <em>(1)<\/em> Security, (2) Privacy and (3) Decentralization.<\/p>\n<p>The core use cases behind Monero are transactions that are private, anonymous, and untraceable.\u00a0It also has selective transparency which allows\u00a0users to make certain transactions visible if desired. (E.g. an auditor or another party to prove the transaction) Ironically, this feature is attractive to many commercial interests that seek to protect critical business data and trade secrets.<\/p>\n<p>On the scalability side, a block limit exists to facilitate more flexible data management (block sizes) and growth solutions. This was by design to allow flexibility in the growth of Monero&#8217;s architecture (which requires more cryptography and data around transactions) than most blockchains.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Monero has been a very steady and innovative player, this growth has not come without great struggles. The recent discovery of secret ASIC manufacturing of Monero miners has prompted the coin to be broken into 6 different forks. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has not only divided the communities but raised concerns of what true decentralization means.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite these looming threats, the dedication of the team to building a robust and secure project continues. Privacy protocols like Kovri\u00a0and hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano S continuously improving the ecosystem bodes well for the project. Additionally, the team continues to achieve development milestones.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep this secure, privacy coin on your radar. The team and community are leaders in the industry and will be one to watch indefinitely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Editor\u2019s Note: This article was updated by <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/author\/stevenbuchko\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steven Buchko<\/a> on 1.9.19 to reflect the recent changes of the project.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"additional-monero-resources\">Additional Monero Resources<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getmonero.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/r\/monero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/monero.stackexchange.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stack Exchange<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcointalk.org\/index.php?topic=583449.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BitcoinTalk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mattermost.getmonero.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mattermost<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/bitmonero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telegram<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Monero? In this guide, you&#8217;ll learn what it is, how it works, and how it has increased privacy over cryptocurrency competitors like Bitcoin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"iawp_total_views":75,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5712],"tags":[5813,9265,23054],"class_list":{"0":"post-3567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-guides","8":"tag-monero","9":"tag-privacy-coins","10":"tag-xmr"},"wppr_data":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is Monero (XMR)? | An In-Depth Guide to the Privacy Coin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is Monero? 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