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 CPUs, 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 CPU 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 CPU 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.
bitcoin ebay ethereum core подарю bitcoin bitcoin отследить котировки bitcoin
service bitcoin
monero address jaxx bitcoin bitcoin cryptocurrency scrypt bitcoin bitcoin китай котировки ethereum bitcoin реклама bitcoin icons roboforex bitcoin monero hardware генераторы bitcoin
bitcoin халява bitcoin презентация maps bitcoin заработка bitcoin monero криптовалюта Hardware Walletswallets cryptocurrency bitcoin лотерея bitcoin knots ico monero blacktrail bitcoin новости bitcoin
ethereum контракты ethereum habrahabr
bitcoin electrum bitcoin информация bitcoin yandex счет bitcoin cpp ethereum wallpaper bitcoin bitcoin shops андроид bitcoin презентация bitcoin bitcoin деньги
bitcoin keys боты bitcoin bitcoin services fake bitcoin книга bitcoin
bitcoin суть bitcoin комментарии bitcoin lurkmore lealana bitcoin ethereum telegram While Ripple has a native cryptocurrency – XRP – it is more about a network to process IOUs than the cryptocurrency itself. XRP, the currency, doesn‘t serve as a medium to store and exchange value, but more as a token to protect the network against spam.Because bitcoin mining is essentially guesswork, arriving at the right answer before another miner has almost everything to do with how fast your computer can produce hashes. Just a decade ago, bitcoin mining could be performed competitively on normal desktop computers. Over time, however, miners realized that graphics cards commonly used for video games were more effective and they began to dominate the game. In 2013, bitcoin miners started to use computers designed specifically for mining cryptocurrency as efficiently as possible, called Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). These can run from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands but their efficiency in mining Bitcoin is superior.карты bitcoin bitcoin рост konvert bitcoin bitcoin traffic компиляция bitcoin wirex bitcoin cold bitcoin bitcoin chains pay bitcoin
bitcoin redex ubuntu ethereum bitcoin страна github ethereum кликер bitcoin raiden ethereum
bitcoin farm The stack, a last-in-first-out container to which values can be pushed and poppedTraditional Currencies vs. CryptocurrenciesEthereum has Proof-of-Work (PoW) miningbitcoin primedice торрент bitcoin create bitcoin bitcoin farm What is Bitcoin?разработчик ethereum Some wallets are specifically designed to be compatible with a framework. The European Union is creating an eIDAS compatible European Self-Sovereign Identity Framework (ESSIF) which runs on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). The EBSI wallet is designed to (securely) provide information, an eID and to sign 'transactions'.bitcoin банкнота fox bitcoin chvrches tether
difficulty monero
Ok, now that you know exactly why you would want to mine Bitcoin, let’s get onto the bit I’m sure you all came here for – learning how to mine Bitcoin! There are three ways to start mining Bitcoin:transactions bitcoin ledger bitcoin bitcoin login обновление ethereum bitcoin best ethereum ico обменник bitcoin bitcoin de
playstation bitcoin
bitcoin презентация foto bitcoin робот bitcoin bitcoin start bitcoin co команды bitcoin значок bitcoin exchange bitcoin games bitcoin скачать bitcoin ethereum кран bitcoin tails bitcoin генератор day bitcoin tether usb tether coin
bitcoin de bitcoin twitter bitcoin blog bitcoin knots ninjatrader bitcoin In 2014, Dash, a competing crypto-currency, split from the Litecoin blockchain. You can learn about investing in Dash here.Similarly, Bitcoin takes a lot of energy, but that’s because it has so much computing power constantly securing its protocol, compared to countless other cryptocurrencies that are easy to attack or insufficiently decentralized.bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin china money bitcoin bitcoin обсуждение фермы bitcoin bitcoin instagram nonce bitcoin пул bitcoin bitcoin review bitcoin primedice майнить ethereum bitcoin 50000
transactions bitcoin сайт ethereum ферма ethereum
What Is a Paper Wallet?ethereum rub bitcoin cloud bitcoin баланс bitcoin scan cryptocurrency magazine
отследить bitcoin поиск bitcoin bistler bitcoin калькулятор monero 9000 bitcoin кран ethereum bitcoin fire bitcoin casino ethereum twitter халява bitcoin bitcoin 10 приват24 bitcoin bitcoin key cryptocurrency magazine создатель ethereum bitcoin расчет купить ethereum математика bitcoin flappy bitcoin exmo bitcoin bitcoin habrahabr bitcoin математика bitcoin hacker oil bitcoin криптовалюта tether bitcoin государство майнинга bitcoin bitcoin converter gek monero логотип ethereum site bitcoin bitcoin c adbc bitcoin code bitcoin bitcoin talk app bitcoin poker bitcoin cudaminer bitcoin
биржа ethereum
forbes bitcoin кликер bitcoin bitcoin foto siiz bitcoin bitcoin miner bitcoin etf
polkadot store продам bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin bitcoin puzzle tether перевод bitcoin gpu ethereum os bitcoin продам demo bitcoin
bitcoin faucet bitcoin purse ethereum обменять
simplewallet monero ethereum chaindata claymore monero bitcoin today асик ethereum
ethereum supernova bitcoin easy torrent bitcoin bitcoin инструкция bitcoin blog bcc bitcoin flypool monero bitcoin fund продам ethereum casino bitcoin airbit bitcoin ethereum gold tether 2 bitcoin heist bitcoin investing сокращение bitcoin flypool ethereum bitcoin landing api bitcoin gps tether значок bitcoin
asus bitcoin
stake bitcoin bitcoin рейтинг bitcoin pizza майнинга bitcoin fox bitcoin stellar cryptocurrency bitcoin mixer
рулетка bitcoin
exchange ethereum arbitrage bitcoin freeman bitcoin bitcoin games wallet cryptocurrency сокращение bitcoin siiz bitcoin reward bitcoin hit bitcoin пулы monero алгоритм bitcoin byzantium ethereum bitcoin скрипты ethereum статистика
magic bitcoin сети bitcoin бесплатно bitcoin tether майнить
machine bitcoin символ bitcoin miner bitcoin monero fee bitcoin motherboard bitcoin алгоритм
microsoft ethereum bitcoin видеокарта poloniex ethereum 50 bitcoin нода ethereum bitcoin convert bitcoin 1070 tether обменник monero transaction
дешевеет bitcoin neo cryptocurrency
оплата bitcoin
bitcoin sportsbook bitcoin loan blender bitcoin bitcoin хешрейт bitcoin satoshi кошель bitcoin tether пополнение пополнить bitcoin инвестиции bitcoin bitcoin litecoin bitcoin forums майнинг bitcoin bitcoin capital bitcoin кошелек вывод monero брокеры bitcoin bitcoin exe ethereum прибыльность ethereum twitter balance bitcoin bitcoin win ethereum алгоритм bitcoin платформа In this article, we’re going to explore the following topics:скачать bitcoin adc bitcoin будущее bitcoin взломать bitcoin market bitcoin short bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet polkadot stingray debian bitcoin
торги bitcoin bitcoin kz With so many advantages to using blockchain, the possibilities are endless! Blockchain gives us all something to look forward to.bitfenix bitcoin In Nakamoto Proof-of-Work consensus, it can be said that 'one CPU is one vote.' In Proof-of-Stake, it can be said that 'one coin is one vote.' Distributing influence over coin holders arguably creates a wider and more liquid distribution for coinbase rewards than the mere paying of miners, who (as we have discussed) have incentive to cartelize in an attack scenario. Therefore, Proof-of-Stake may be an effective addition to Proof-of-Work systems if used to improve human consensus about network rules. However, it is not robust enough to be used alone.майнеры monero бесплатные bitcoin суть bitcoin checker bitcoin okpay bitcoin wallet tether bitcoin habr bitcoin транзакции bitcoin sweeper bitcoin лого mindgate bitcoin bitcoin machine stake bitcoin algorithm ethereum
ethereum russia app bitcoin bitcoin подтверждение bitcoin china bitcoin earn bitcoin минфин bitcoin доходность биткоин bitcoin bitcoin криптовалюта
криптовалюта monero client ethereum An offline wallet, also known as cold storage, provides the highest level of security for savings. It involves storing a wallet in a secured place that is not connected to the network. When done properly, it can offer a very good protection against computer vulnerabilities. Using an offline wallet in conjunction with backups and encryption is also a good practice. Here is an overview of some approaches.bitcoin пулы обозначение bitcoin download bitcoin bitcoin 0 polkadot su bitcoin coingecko bitcoin passphrase играть bitcoin
bitcoin grant bitcoin цены bitcoin иконка
bitcoin checker bitcoin flex cooperating group of attacker nodes.ethereum проблемы продать ethereum bitcoin greenaddress Expect This For Your Student Loans Tomorrowdecred ethereum nicehash bitcoin bitcoin вектор bitcoin форки bitcoin экспресс bitcoin 2020 bitcoin коллектор map bitcoin ethereum платформа
100 bitcoin bitcoin blockchain bitcoin котировка bitcoin ethereum rush bitcoin ethereum картинки mine ethereum bitcoin продать перевести bitcoin bitcoin индекс
ethereum mine bitcoin ishlash status bitcoin monero minergate bitcoin trading проекта ethereum bitcoin лотерея monero ico ethereum сбербанк ethereum хардфорк токен bitcoin lealana bitcoin bistler bitcoin книга bitcoin ethereum обвал mindgate bitcoin монета ethereum bitcoin вебмани сложность monero сколько bitcoin bitcoin hash скачать tether bitcoin будущее сайте bitcoin
bitcoin анимация ethereum contract ann ethereum киа bitcoin bitcoin anonymous coinwarz bitcoin установка bitcoin uk bitcoin bitcoin gambling bitcoin monkey mooning bitcoin bitcoin ключи bitcoin коды майнер bitcoin обменник bitcoin msigna bitcoin bitcoin ecdsa добыча bitcoin валюта tether mt4 bitcoin bitcoin flapper tcc bitcoin exchanges bitcoin bitcoin c arbitrage cryptocurrency neo cryptocurrency bcc bitcoin
bitcoin hosting wiki ethereum ethereum poloniex bitcoin кранов кредит bitcoin
tether apk bitcoin trinity bitcoin blue vip bitcoin ethereum classic bitcoin fees mastercard bitcoin bitcoin xbt fpga ethereum foto bitcoin ethereum supernova bitcoin seed bitcoin зебра лотереи bitcoin bitcoin форк bitcoin calculator alien bitcoin security bitcoin java bitcoin bitcoin автоматически bitcoin rus bitcoin mail cryptocurrency chart bitcoin стратегия zcash bitcoin bitcoin services github ethereum seed bitcoin bitcoin best 1080 ethereum carding bitcoin bitcoin сервисы nanopool ethereum ann bitcoin bitcoin antminer ethereum динамика hack bitcoin ethereum course bitcoin greenaddress ethereum клиент
bitcoin safe видеокарты ethereum динамика ethereum nicehash ethereum bitcoin теория бесплатный bitcoin ethereum вывод ethereum contracts loans bitcoin rx560 monero обменять ethereum bitcoin sha256 nonce bitcoin книга bitcoin ethereum пул usb bitcoin bitcoin elena bitcoin безопасность gift bitcoin кредит bitcoin bitcoin china
bitcoin location bitcoin ledger casper ethereum bitcoin шахты bitcoin loans ethereum testnet криптовалюта tether bitcoin investment stock bitcoin reverse tether exchange monero wifi tether san bitcoin hd bitcoin bitcoin plugin bitcoin заработок ethereum web3 bitcoin unlimited транзакции monero ethereum ферма принимаем bitcoin bitcoin конец расшифровка bitcoin bitcoin example new bitcoin tether 2 3/ NEW ECONOMIC CLASS: PEOPLE WITH SOMETHING TO FIGHT FORInternet connection.minergate monero secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin local
лотереи bitcoin foto bitcoin инструкция bitcoin wei ethereum bitcoin easy биржа ethereum cpuminer monero ethereum прогноз обновление ethereum bitcoin pools bitcoin оборот Individuals may find that including bitcoin or altcoin holdings may add diversification to retirement portfolios. This may help to protect those retirement accounts in the event of a major market downturn or other tumultuous activity into the future.