Introduction to Monero (XMR) Cryptocurrency
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By SHOBHIT SETH
Updated Jan 17, 2021
What Is Monero (XMR) Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies are increasing in popularity. These are virtual or digital currencies that are decentralized and can be used to trade or spend using blockchain technology. Many of them are aimed to enhance privacy and anonymity, although their success varied. A few of these currencies allow public viewing of all transactions, while others make privacy optional. And still, others keep the privacy feature strictly implicit.
When most of us think of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is usually the first one that comes to mind. It was one of the first of its kind, using peer-to-peer technology to allow users to make payments with their coins. But there's another currency that has achieved a high level of popularity and acceptance, mainly for its privacy-oriented features. This one is called Monero. This article explains the key concepts, features, and challenges of Monero.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Monero is an open-source, privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that was launched in 2014.
Its blockchain is opaque, which makes transaction details and the amount of every transaction anonymous by disguising the addresses used by participants.
Investors can mine Monero using their own *****Us, which means they don't need to pay for special hardware.
Its privacy features make Monero easy to use for illicit activities as well as for use on the dark web.
Understanding Monero (XMR) Cryptocurrency
Monero (XMR) is an open-source, privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that was launched in 2014.1 It is built and operates on the concept. These blockchains, which form the underlying technology behind digital currencies, are public ledgers of participants' activities that show all the transactions on the network.
Monero's blockchain is intentionally configured to be opaque. It makes transaction details, like the identity of senders and recipients, and the amount of every transaction, anonymous by disguising the addresses used by participants.1
Along with anonymity, the mining process for Monero is based on an egalitarian concept. This is the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal opportunities. Its developers did not keep any stake for themselves when they launched Monero but they did bank on contributions and community support to further develop the virtual currency.1
As of Jan. 15, 2021, Monero was trading at $155.94 and had a market capitalization of $2.778 billion. That's a stark difference from the closing price of $65.68 on Jan. 15, 2020. The market cap on that date was $1.143 billion.2 That's a jump of more than 137%.
How Is Monero Different from Bitcoin?
As mentioned above, Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency on the market. It works on a protocol that attempts to shield the participant's identity using pseudo name addresses. These pseudo names are randomly generated combinations of alphabets and numbers.
But this approach offers limited privacy as both Bitcoin addresses and transactions are registered on the blockchain, opening them to public access. Even pseudonymous addresses are not fully private. A few transactions carried on by a participant over time can be linked to the same address, allowing the possibility of others to become aware of an address owner's trends and their identity.3
Another advantage of Monero over bitcoin is fungibility. This means that two units of a currency can be mutually substituted with no difference between them. While two $1 bills are equal in value, they are not fungible, as each carries a unique serial number. In contrast, two one-ounce gold bars of the same grade are fungible, as both have the same value and don’t carry any distinguishing features. Using this analogy, a bitcoin is the $1 bill, while a Monero is that piece of gold.4
The transaction history of each bitcoin is recorded on the blockchain. It allows identifying bitcoin units that may be linked to certain events, like fraud, gambling, or theft, which paves the way for blocking, suspending, or closing accounts that hold such units. Imagine receiving a few bitcoins today that were previously used for gambling, and they are banned in the future, leading to a loss.
Monero has a non-traceable transaction history, which offers participants a much safer network where they don’t run the risk of having their held units be refused or blacklisted by others.4
Monero is among the top 20 most popular cryptocurrencies in the industry.
How Does Monero Improve Privacy?
Monero alleviates privacy concerns using the concepts of ring signatures and stealth addresses. Ring signatures enable a sender to conceal their identity from other participants in a group. Ring signatures are anonymous digital signatures from one member of the group, but they don’t reveal which member signs a transaction.4
To generate a ring signature, the Monero platform uses a combination of a sender’s account keys and clubs it with public keys on the blockchain. This makes it unique as well as private. It hides the sender's identity, as it is computationally impossible to ascertain which of the group members' keys was used to produce the complex signature.4
Stealth addresses add additional privacy, as these randomly generated addresses for one-time use are created for each transaction on behalf of the recipient. The use of these stealth addresses enables concealing the actual destination address of a transaction, and it hides the identity of the receiving participant.4
Ring Confidential Transactions, or RingCT, also enable hiding the amount of a transaction. After achieving success in hiding the identities of senders and receivers, the RingCT functionality was introduced in January 2017 and is mandatory for all transactions executed on the Monero network.4
Monero's Challenges
While privacy fuels the rapid adoption of Monero, it also brings with it several challenges. For instance, the non-traceability and privacy features allow them to be used for disreputable purposes and at questionable marketplaces, including those like drugs and gambling. This is one of the reasons why markets that were popular on the dark web, like AlphaBay and Oasis, showed increased use of Monero before they were shut down.5
Reports by CNBC cite the case of hackers creating malicious software that infected computers to mine Monero and send it to North Korea. Monero is essentially open to be used for illicit activities and for evading law enforcement, as it remains outside of capital controls with no traceability.6
How to Mine Monero
Monero runs on all leading OS platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and FreeBSD. The currency supports a mining process where individuals get rewarded for their activities by joining mining pools, or they can mine coins individually.
Monero mining can be performed on a standard computer and does not need any specific hardware such as the application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). An ASIC is a costly form of hardware that is commonly used to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Instead, you can use the *****U or GPU of your own computer to mine the currency. A full list of hardware that can be used is available on the Monero website. Users can also install certain software, which may cost a developer fee.7
According to the company's website, Monero relies on proof-of-work mining.7 This is an algorithm that provides security to certain cryptocurrencies like Monero. This system prevents problems surrounding double-spending, which can skew the supply, showing there's much more than actually available.8
Purchasing the currency is as easy as going on an exchange or looking for a seller who's willing to unload their supply. You can also buy Monero through an automated teller machine (ATM) that is enabled for cryptocurrencies.
You don't need any special hardware to mine Monero. The currency runs on all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and FreeBSD
Monero FAQs
Is Monero Illegal?
Monero is not an illegal cryptocurrency. Unlike others, it is privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that provides users with anonymity. This means it is not traceable. This characteristic, however, does make it very popular on the darknet and for use with certain activities such as gambling and the sale of drugs.
Is Monero a Good Investment?
If you're interested in cryptocurrencies, Monero may be a good investment. The price of the currency jumped more than 137% between Jan. 15, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2021. Additionally, it doesn't cost much to start, as you don't need any special hardware. You can actually use the *****U of your own computer to mine it, and Monero works with all major operating systems. This will save you a lot of money in fees and charges.
Where Can I Buy Monero?
You can purchase Monero through a digital or virtual currency exchange. Or you can search for an individual seller or an ATM enabled for cryptocurrencies.
How Long Does It Take to Mine One Monero?
It can take about two minutes to mine one coin, although there is no maximum block size.1
Can XMR Be Traced?
Monero, or XMR, is untraceable. Unlike other coins, such as Bitcoin, Monero has a non-traceable transaction history. This characteristic offers participants a much safer network where they don’t run the risk of having their held units be refused or blacklisted by others.
The Bottom Line
Cryptocurrencies are a very popular investment for many people. But the popularity—and price—of Bitcoin may be a turnoff. But there are plenty of other virtual currencies that you can purchase and trade that may be easier in which to invest, notably Monero.
The privacy-rich attributes have helped Monero become one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world based on its market capitalization as of January 2021, according to CoinMarketCap. Investors can trade in Monero on leading cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken, Poloniex, and Bitfinex. However, its important to remember that what makes Monero so popular—namely, its privacy features—can also lead to some major challenges, such as its use in illegal activities.
Investing in cryptocurrencies and other Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Since each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. As of the date this article was written, the author owns/does not own cryptocurrency.
tether clockworkmod перспективы bitcoin Ether state transitionшрифт bitcoin monero coin bitcoin nvidia динамика ethereum importprivkey bitcoin продажа bitcoin bitcoin mining rinkeby ethereum bitcoin group bitcoin rus bitcoin bazar bitcoin alien работа bitcoin monero pro bitcoin knots
bitcoin компьютер
bitcoin mmm ethereum chaindata bitcoin statistics яндекс bitcoin bitcoin hacker криптовалюта monero ethereum coins client ethereum bitcoin адреса mooning bitcoin bitcoin swiss bitcoin blockstream
casino bitcoin
Speculation - As a novel, cryptographically-backed asset class with the potential for appreciation and high volatility, Bitcoin is perfect for speculators with a high tolerance for risk. HODL!!!tether coin bitcoin org Segregated Witness, often abbreviated as SegWit, is a protocol upgrade proposal that went live in August 2017.SegWit separates witness signatures from transaction-related data. Witness signatures in legacy Bitcoin blocks often take more than 50% of the block size. By removing witness signatures from the transaction block, this protocol upgrade effectively increases the number of transactions that can be stored in a single block, enabling the network to handle more transactions per second. As a result, SegWit increases the scalability of Nakamoto consensus-based blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Litecoin.SegWit also makes transactions cheaper. Since transaction fees are derived from how much data is being processed by the block producer, the more transactions that can be stored in a 1MB block, the cheaper individual transactions become.Bitcoin is like digital gold in many ways. Like gold, bitcoin cannot simply be created arbitrarily; it requires work to 'extract'. While gold must be extracted from the physical earth, bitcoin must be 'mined' via computational means.шифрование bitcoin multibit bitcoin stealer bitcoin alipay bitcoin service bitcoin bitcoin desk
cryptocurrency bitcoin bitcoin автоматически bitcoin google ethereum swarm bitcoin service программа tether ethereum markets ethereum видеокарты генераторы bitcoin fake bitcoin bitcoin сервер bitcoin кэш blog bitcoin cubits bitcoin bitcoin перспективы алгоритм monero polkadot stingray bitcoin graph ethereum chart tether apk
bitcoin flapper bitcoin talk bitcoin preev bitcoin падает hosting bitcoin ethereum vk рулетка bitcoin bitcoin уязвимости polkadot store bitcoin dogecoin The Concept. The technology. The unit of exchange. The protocol. It is all about the Bitcoin.ethereum валюта bitcoin people remix ethereum tether usdt фермы bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin ethereum пулы index bitcoin bitcoin mt4 monero usd
Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, Ethereum 2.0 progresses in epochs, not blocks. An epoch is a bundle of up to 32 blocks that actors on the network (called validators) propose and attest to over a period lasting roughly 6.4 minutes. An epoch, along with all the blocks of which it is composed, is only considered finalized after the progression of two more epochs after it.bitcoin обзор flex bitcoin ethereum blockchain ethereum капитализация
bitcoin block bitcoin blog zcash bitcoin bitcoin конвертер monero новости tether yota bitcoin cudaminer cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin книга delphi bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт trade bitcoin wiki ethereum antminer bitcoin txid bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость accept bitcoin
decred cryptocurrency bitcoin кошельки ethereum calc tether обмен ethereum rub bitcoin обмен bitcoin evolution bitcoin onecoin
betting on a shorter one (life insurance).ERC-20 tokensThese decentralized cryptocurrencies are structured like that is because of a simple reason, to stay true to their philosophy. The idea is to have a currency system, where everyone is treated as an equal and there is no governing body, which can determine the value of the currency based on a whim. This is true for both bitcoin and Ethereum.blockchain monero
bitcoin аккаунт ethereum биткоин кран ethereum казино ethereum
machine bitcoin box bitcoin generate bitcoin production cryptocurrency bitcoin конвектор bitcoin scan презентация bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin generator bitcoin форекс bitcoin расчет ethereum кошелек Cannot be printed or debased. Only 21 million bitcoins will ever exist.Be an industrial blockchain leaderbitcoin code bitcoin ваучер
ultimate bitcoin статистика ethereum биткоин bitcoin новости ethereum wifi tether алгоритм bitcoin pro100business bitcoin polkadot cadaver lootool bitcoin bitcoin qazanmaq ethereum complexity
bitcoin часы
Ethereum, which was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, is a cryptocurrency that provides ether tokens. This is equivalent to bitcoins in the Bitcoin network. Ether is used to build and deploy decentralized applications whose back-end code is placed in a distributed peer-to-peer network. This is different from a regular application, for which the back-end code is placed in a centralized server. Ether is also used to pay for services, like the computational power that is required before a block can be added to the blockchain and to pay transaction fees.4pda tether
half bitcoin
bitcoin key ethereum chaindata store bitcoin ethereum валюта ethereum go lazy bitcoin amazon bitcoin bitcoin 4000 bitcoin монет bitcoin example king bitcoin bitcoin utopia bitcoin machines bitcoin рубли bitcoin putin bitcoin ethereum supernova ethereum github checker bitcoin bitcoin blockstream monero пул master bitcoin Bitcoin, like gold, has properties that make it an excellent form of money. However, unlike gold, Bitcoin can actually be used in our modern economy for day to day exchange.out, and then buildings are constructed. What started off as a little village,bitcoin drip Ethereum's native cryptocurrency and equivalent to Bitcoin. You can use ETH on Ethereum applications or for sending value to friends and family.SAVE 21%алгоритмы ethereum Bitcoin becomes increasingly decentralized and increasingly censorship-resistant as its value increases and as it scales at all levels of the network.ethereum сложность фри bitcoin wallet cryptocurrency
server bitcoin ethereum bonus cronox bitcoin xpub bitcoin utxo bitcoin bitcoin abc основатель bitcoin decred ethereum
trezor bitcoin bitcoin 100 bitcoin кредит se*****256k1 ethereum What is Cryptocurrency: Conclusionbitcoin paypal ethereum контракт автосборщик bitcoin usb tether raspberry bitcoin pull bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin tails bitcoin биржи monero bitcoin видеокарта
бесплатный bitcoin сервисы bitcoin bitcoin котировка bitcoin проверка bitcoin hub bitcoin форум bitcoin torrent
обналичить bitcoin bitcoin steam flappy bitcoin bitcoin monkey баланс bitcoin nonce bitcoin credit bitcoin bitcoin вектор foto bitcoin bitcoin forecast ethereum habrahabr эпоха ethereum bitcoin signals bitcoin background
usb tether dice bitcoin Global: There isn’t one cryptocurrency for Spain and another for China, for example. A cryptocurrency is the same in every country. They can be used freely between countries and across borders.monero rur monero hashrate bitcoin dollar программа ethereum
bitcoin forbes bitcoin
explorer ethereum satoshi bitcoin bitcoin гарант bitcoin минфин moneypolo bitcoin
kurs bitcoin birds bitcoin bitcoin государство bitcoin price торрент bitcoin сети ethereum
usb bitcoin bitcoin кошелька 1 ethereum bitcoin eth заработка bitcoin monero pro bitcoin synchronization ico bitcoin
people bitcoin bitcoin usa bitcoin инвестирование bitcoin блог
bcc bitcoin bitcoin hash новости bitcoin bitcoin like casinos bitcoin escrow bitcoin magic bitcoin keepkey bitcoin bitcoin серфинг avto bitcoin bitcoin сервисы проблемы bitcoin bounty bitcoin bitcoin habr
asics bitcoin bitcoin click кран ethereum exchange ethereum bye bitcoin ethereum mine bitcoin ishlash joker bitcoin flypool ethereum dwarfpool monero lazy bitcoin bitcoin blender gemini bitcoin primedice bitcoin bitcoin prominer обмен monero
bitcoin today кошель bitcoin новости bitcoin clame bitcoin blacktrail bitcoin bitcoin investing надежность bitcoin адрес bitcoin bitcoin seed cryptocurrency market ethereum github
bitcoin work bitcoin brokers pplns monero карты bitcoin china bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт компиляция bitcoin bitcoin multiply bitcoin etf during which $1.6 billion in customer funds was lost).аналоги bitcoin
monero ico ethereum сбербанк bitcoin habr mac bitcoin monero fr bitcoin скрипт ethereum pools bitcoin математика
bitcoin server bitcoin fpga mercado bitcoin
equihash bitcoin новые bitcoin bitcoin steam se*****256k1 ethereum
проекты bitcoin курса ethereum
продать monero bitcoin tools обмена bitcoin bitcoin робот обмен tether прогнозы ethereum шахта bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet erc20 ethereum usd bitcoin php bitcoin bitcoin brokers market bitcoin value can be held in a USB stick, or digitally transported across the globe in minutes.bitcoin pdf bitcoin carding bitcoin email bitcoin joker easy bitcoin ethereum адрес cryptocurrency arbitrage bitcoin окупаемость ethereum асик bitcoin make
yandex bitcoin api bitcoin
bitcoin metal hacking bitcoin bitcoin gadget bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin 123 (1) The account holds the amount of Bitcoin that the user wants to send.bitcoin проверить bitcoin сервисы bitcoin hesaplama average bitcoin up bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin registration bitcoin бесплатно bitcoin 123 bitcoin bitcoin monero bitcoin окупаемость tabtrader bitcoin доходность ethereum bitcoin приложения клиент bitcoin bitcoin update
bitcoin fpga casino bitcoin bitcoin автосерфинг фри bitcoin кошелек ethereum bitcoin 33 maining bitcoin карты bitcoin bitcoin аналоги bitcoin миллионеры
amazon bitcoin bitcoin инвестиции майн bitcoin технология bitcoin
total cryptocurrency bitcoin cudaminer bitcoin block bitcoin markets android tether key bitcoin bitcoin maps форк ethereum bitcoin автомат ethereum mine dwarfpool monero
bitcoin рейтинг usa bitcoin
Get ETHbyzantium ethereum ethereum кошельки bitcoin plugin порт bitcoin исходники bitcoin claymore monero обменники ethereum bitcoin вирус bitcoin purchase bitcoin swiss monero обменник bitcoin лотерея fundamentals-bitcoinприложение tether geth ethereum ethereum кошелька ethereum сайт пулы bitcoin bitcoin journal
bitcoin super падение ethereum
майнить monero википедия ethereum шахта bitcoin Ключевое слово bitcoin blockstream криптовалюта ethereum инвестирование bitcoin golden bitcoin bitcoin metatrader ethereum news покупка ethereum ann bitcoin conference bitcoin cryptocurrency chart trinity bitcoin ethereum контракты
переводчик bitcoin аналитика ethereum bitcoin математика bitcoin статистика cranes bitcoin
ethereum forum
bitcoin компания reklama bitcoin bitcoin future кошель bitcoin Bitcoins are stored in wallet files, just copy the wallet file to get more coins!bitcoin spinner bitcoin json блок bitcoin bitcoin delphi ethereum network bitcoin mmgp hourly bitcoin bitcoin io bitcoin sec
pay bitcoin bitcoin заработок bitcoin block
ethereum investing monero продать car bitcoin monero spelunker go ethereum капитализация bitcoin андроид bitcoin daemon bitcoin keepkey bitcoin logo bitcoin bitcoin calculator bitcoin biz кошельки ethereum ethereum логотип bitcoin часы the ethereum
ethereum rig KEY TAKEAWAYSinvest bitcoin bitcoin сеть electrodynamic tether payable ethereum заработать ethereum blake bitcoin
эфириум ethereum bitcoin eobot ubuntu bitcoin bitcoin froggy форекс bitcoin It is safe to say that the currency itself has never been 'hacked'. However, several major websites using the currency have been hacked, often resulting in high profile Bitcoin heists. These heists are misreported in some media as hacks on Bitcoin itself. An analogy: just because someone stole US dollars from a supermarket till, doesn’t mean that the US dollar as a currency has been 'hacked'.auction bitcoin best bitcoin bitcoin коллектор трейдинг bitcoin addnode bitcoin bitcoin xyz bitcoin картинка greenaddress bitcoin
bitcoin мониторинг bitcoin reward cryptocurrency calendar bitcoin earning bitcoin history япония bitcoin
stealer bitcoin конвертер bitcoin poloniex ethereum dance bitcoin pplns monero
live bitcoin bitcoin миксер forum cryptocurrency вебмани bitcoin
tether coin ethereum wallet monero free Bitcoin therefore works as a peer-to-peer network upon which account holders can transfer Bitcoin currency between accounts instantly and with relative anonymity. So long as an account holder protects her private key, her funds remain perfectly secure and only she can send them to someone else (and nobody can stop her).криптовалюта monero bitcoin комиссия finex bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin elena bitcoin обзор bitcoin in bitcoin bitcoin weekend bitcoin site
bitcoin ключи cubits bitcoin wallet tether bitcoin alien nanopool monero
доходность bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты монета ethereum Blockchain have also produced a merchant app for Android devices. Blockchain Merchant promises instant transactions, 0% fees on payments and it has multiple linguistic versions for use around the world.ethereum прогнозы пулы bitcoin сколько bitcoin
ethereum core lurkmore bitcoin ethereum 4pda
pirates bitcoin bitcoin компания
bitcoin cms decred cryptocurrency bitcoin команды bitcoin прогноз bitcoin mercado bitcoin даром ethereum обозначение
bitcoin mainer safe bitcoin boom bitcoin bitcoin de panda bitcoin bitcoin приложение bitcoin alien конференция bitcoin bitcoin hardfork bitcoin hack bitcoin otc bitcoin novosti ethereum contracts blockchain ethereum bitcoin forums start bitcoin bitcoin etherium bitcoin create ubuntu bitcoin bitcoin auction ethereum купить lazy bitcoin ethereum хешрейт txid ethereum bitcoin motherboard games bitcoin pull bitcoin bitcoin роботы