The Monero cryptocurrency: when anonymity is beyond doubt

. The coin was launched in 2014. A year later, it appeared on the stock exchanges, and its initial price was only 49 cents. In 2018, the rate managed to reach $542. This was the maximum value since the creation of XMR, and now the coin is worth about $277. In the cryptocurrency ratings, XMR ranks 27th with a capitalization of almost $5 billion.

Where did this cryptocurrency come from? It appeared as a result of the Bytecoin project (not Bitcoin, just a similar name). As cyber criminals tried to hack into the system after Monero appeared, the protocols had to be rewritten and the vulnerabilities eliminated. This took several years. In 2019, XMR began operating on the Cryptonight R protocol, and six months later it was replaced by Random X. The coin is still functioning on it to this day.

Features of Monero: how it all works

The system responsible for data encryption is integrated into the blockchain itself. Anyone who owns an XMR wallet can change the level of anonymity of the transfer by increasing the fee. During processing, all information from the transactions is mixed and reduces the risk of tracing to almost zero. The money goes to a one-time address generated by the system. Since this address is public, anyone can see it, but for an “outsider” all transfers will be as if from several addresses and to different wallets, so there is no way to find the real sender or recipient.

How else is the privacy of Monero users protected? Transactions can be sent with the same signature but from different users, that is, when several people have access to the same account and they all have the same signature. So, when one of them makes a transfer, it is impossible to find out who exactly did it, because the signature is the same for all the people who have access to the wallet. This technology is called ring signatures. It was first described in 2001.

Monero is protected from unauthorized access by a technology called Stealth-Addresses. It eliminates a vulnerability that could cause cryptocurrency holders to lose all of their savings if their data is stolen. This has already happened and remains possible on the Ethereum and Bitcoin networks. XMR took this into account and secured its users from such a situation by integrating the aforementioned technology.

Since 2017, Monero has implemented ring transactions, using the RingCT protocol. On average, about 10 random outputs are added to disguise the output that will actually be spent. At the same time, it is not necessary to select the outputs of the same nominal value. They can all be of different sums.

Advantages of using Monero crypto assets

Real interchangeability.

What is this? This is when a coin can be replaced with another one of the same value. And it is impossible to trace the history of its receipt or participation in transactions. In the case of Bitcoin, the reputation of a particular coin can be seen from the history of transactions. And, if any of the transfers were questionable or frankly illegal, that coin is blocked and made impossible to use in the future. Monero is anonymous and therefore it is impossible to trace where the cryptocurrency came from and where it was taken. This means that the XMR owners can not be afraid of blocking.

Ensuring 100% anonymity.

Monero is probably one of the most anonymous cryptocurrencies in the world. It guarantees full confidentiality to its users by hiding from third parties the data of senders and recipients, transaction amounts, signatures, and timestamps.

Dynamic scalability of blocks.

Monero's blockchain consists of dynamic blocks. That is, their size can increase or decrease depending on the number of transfers. However, the timing of block checking remains unchanged. In case some miners want to flood the blockchain with transactions, they implement an algorithm that tracks the size of the last 100 blocks and reduces the reward when the average block size is exceeded.

Wallets for storing the Montero cryptocurrency

There are two official wallets: desktop Monero GUI (there are versions for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, as well as an online wallet https://wallet.mymonero.com

All other wallets are created by third-party developers and are designed to store several types of crypto assets. Examples:

• Monerujo is a wallet in the form of an Android application. Transactions are carried out by means of QR codes.
• Exodus Wallet is a solution with a simple interface and rich functionality. It is equipped with a crypto exchange and a crypto portfolio tracker. It can be installed on any desktop operating system.
• Ledger Nano S is a hardware wallet in the form of a USB drive. It is protected by two-factor identification and a PIN code.
• Cake Wallet is an application for iPhone users. It allows you to store Monero and exchange it for other coins. All access keys are managed exclusively by the owner of such a wallet, which guarantees the safety and security of XMR.

Which exchanges rejected Monero and where the coin is accepted

Initially, XMR was traded on all exchanges. However, later the Japanese Financial Services Agency changed the way crypto-assets are regulated, and the FATF also tightened its requirements, which led to the delisting of Monero by OKEx, Coincheck, and UpBit exchanges. This means that it is no longer possible to buy or sell XMR within these exchanges. However, there are quite a few other resources that still support the coin:

• Kraken.
• EXMO.
• Poloniex.
• Binance.
• Bitfinex.
• Huobi Global.

And there are fifty or more such exchanges. So you don't need to worry that after mining or buying Monero you won't be able to sell it. The ban on this applies only to a few sites, which have already been mentioned above.

Other things you should know before buying or mining Monero

This cryptocurrency, like many others, is banned in the following countries:

• Saudi Arabia.
• Bolivia.
• Macedonia.
• Vietnam.
• Afghanistan.
• Vanuatu.
• Algeria.
• Pakistan.
• Bangladesh.
• Qatar.

In Russia, there is no strict ban on Monero, but it is impossible to pay for any goods or services with any cryptocurrency, this is directly prohibited by law.

Monero is also a favorite coin of cybercriminals. They liked it for its anonymity and the possibility of mining with hidden miners. The developers of the cryptocurrency even created a special working group, which web resource contains instructions and programs for detecting and removing malicious software.

In general, we can say that Monero is the ideal anonymous cryptocurrency with a high degree of security and prospects for rate growth and development in the near future.