What is Monero
Monero is a secure, private and untraceable currency system.
Monero uses a special type of cryptography ensuring that all transactions remain 100% untraceable. In an increasingly transparent world, you can see why something like Monero can become so desirable.
Monero’s blockchain is intentionally configured to be opaque. It makes transaction details – such as the identities of senders, recipients and the amount of each transaction – anonymous by „masking“ the addresses used by participants.
Along with anonymity, Monero’s mining process is based on an egalitarian concept – the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal opportunity. Upon Monero’s launch, its developers kept no stake for themselves and set about supporting the community to further develop the virtual currency.
Monero is considered one of the simplest coins to mine as it does not require the purchase of expensive and specialized hardware. Therefore, anyone with the appropriate know-how can earn an income by mining XMR. Monero aims to support egalitarian mining in the future.
Origin of Monero
In July 2012, Bytecoin, the first real implementation of CryptoNote was launched. CryptoNote is the application layer protocol that powers various decentralized currencies. Although it is similar to the application layer that runs bitcoin in many aspects, there are many areas where the two differ from each other.
While bytecoin was quite promising, people noticed that a lot of questionable things were happening and that 80% of the coins had already been issued.
So, it was decided that the bytecoin blockchain would be forked and the new coins in the new chain would be called Bitmonero, which was eventually renamed to Monero, meaning „coin“ in Esperanto. In this new blockchain, a block will be mined and added every two minutes.
The Monero team
Monero is led by a group of 7 developers, of which 5 chose to remain anonymous while two revealed themselves publicly.
Over 500 developers have contributed to the Monero project, including 30 highly skilled professionals.
The forums and chat channels are welcoming and active.
While these privacy benefits have contributed to Monero’s rapid adoption, they have also created a number of challenges. Mopego’s untraceability and privacy characteristics allow the asset to be used for nefarious purposes and in dubious markets, including those for drugs and gambling.
Dark web marketplaces, such as AlphaBay and Oasis, have seen increased use of Monero.
What makes Monero confidential?
- Ring Signatures: To make it possible to create this transaction privacy, Monero uses Ring Signatures to mix the digital signature of the person making an XMR transaction with the signatures of other users before recording it on the blockchain. That way, if you look at the data, it will look as if the transaction was sent by each of the signers.Over the years, Monero has experimented with changing the number of signatures involved in this blending process, at one time even allowing users to specify the number they wanted.As of 2019, however, Monero’s default transaction is now set to add 10 signatures to each group of transactions and blend a total of 11 signatures.
- Stealth Addresses: Another feature contributing to Monero’s privacy is Stealth Addresses, which allow users to post a single address that automatically creates multiple one-time accounts for each transaction. Using a secret „visibility key,“ the owner can then identify their incoming funds as their wallet can scan the blockchain to identify all transactions with that key.
- RingCT: Introduced in 2017, Ring Confidential Transactions hides the amount users exchange in transactions recorded on the blockchain. In practice, RingCT makes it so that transactions can have many inputs and outputs while maintaining anonymity and protecting against double spending.
How to buy Monero?
1. Choose a crypto exchange
There are numerous cryptocurrency exchanges and exchanges that range from easy-to-use systems to complex dashboards for advanced traders.
Because Monero is so popular, you’ll be able to purchase the token on most cryptocurrency exchanges, but it’s advisable to stick to a few of the more popular exchanges like Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, etc. Different platforms come with different fees, security measures, and may include other features, so it’s a good idea to do your research before signing up.
2. Create an account and confirm it
Start with account registration, which is completely free on the aforementioned platforms. For added security, 2FA – two-factor authentication – is also enabled. This way, you and your device are the only ones who can grant access to the account.
You are then taken through a KYC process, which is providing personal information – ID card/passport/driving license details, proof of address (e.g. bank statement or utility bill).
After completing these steps, you are ready to buy, sell and trade Monero (XLM), as well as take advantage of various services such as steaming.
3. Fund your account
Once your account has been registered and verified, you need to fund the account so that you can start taking advantage of the buying and trading services on the platform.
The main deposit options are:
- Credit/Debit Card
- Bank deposit
- Peer-to-peer (P2P)
Where to buy Monero?
