Monero

What is Monero (XMR)?

Monero (XMR) it is a decentralized privacy coin. It can be used to conduct completely anonymous cryptocurrency transactions. Monero is one of the most famous examples privacy assets which are completely decentralized and difficult to track. You can view the most up-to-date Monero price performance data using the dynamic chart above.

Who developed Monero?

The developers of Monero, called Core team, preferred to remain anonymous. The white paper was published by Nicholas van Saberhagen, although this is believed to be a pseudonym. One of the co-founders, Riccardo Spagni, known as Fluffypony, was charged with fraud in South Africa.

The project did not conduct an initial coin sale (ICO). Monero’s price has been particularly volatile since its launch. This may be due to changing market conditions as cryptocurrency is considered a high-risk investment.

The idea of ​​a privacy coin was originally proposed by a user. grateful_for_today on the Bitcointalk forum. According to the user, one of the biggest drawbacks of Bitcoin (BTC) was its traceability, since all transactions are recorded on distributed ledger and is available to all blockchain participants.

Monero aims to improve two aspects of the digital currency: anonymity and confidentiality. Despite Bitcoin’s supposed anonymity, transactions can still be traced back to specific wallets owned by individuals. Due to the fact that the initial Bitmonero project was perceived as controversial in the Bitcoin community, grateful_for_today created a fork of Monero in 2014.

At the time of launch, one XMR coin cost approximately 2 dollars. As of June 2022, the all-time high was reached in January 2018, exceeding US$540. The lowest Monero price ever recorded was US$0.22 in January 2015.

In the years since its launch, Monero has built the third largest community of developers in the world, second only to Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). The exact number of developers involved in the project is unknown, although it is believed that there are several hundred of them.

What are the key features of Monero?

Based on the protocol, Monero has an unlimited number of coins. This ensures there is no shortage of privacy product. While the price of Monero is not directly affected by the available supply of coins in circulation, it is subject to overall market trends.

The Monero crypto platform uses Proof of Work (PoW) Consensus mechanism for mining new coins. This system is also used by Bitcoin, which Monero directly competes with in the market. The platform strives to be completely decentralized and trustless. New blocks are mined approximately every two minutes.

Monero uses advanced cryptographic technology to ensure that data related to both ends of the transaction is hidden. This makes it difficult, and in many cases almost impossible, to track the sender and recipient wallet addresses.

The platform implements several technologies that help obfuscate transaction data, including ring signatures And zero-knowledge proof (ZKP). Additionally, Monero uses an information hiding technique known as Bulletproofwhich proves that a transaction took place without revealing its actual value.

Every transaction is conducted using false transaction addresses known as hidden addresses. They are one-time use and help prevent third parties from linking different transactions to each other.

Monero and criminal activity

Monero has been linked to illegal online activities, malicious attacks, and other forms of cybercrime. The increase in criminal activity related to privacy assets is especially noticeable amid increasing attempts to establish regulations regarding cryptocurrencies. While some XMR price changes reflect some market trends, others are influenced by negative press.

XMR coins are often used as a payment method on the darknet. Similar to how Bitcoin was used on Silk RoadMonero can be used to pay for illegal goods such as drugs or weapons. However, unlike Bitcoin, XMR’s obfuscation technology makes it nearly impossible to identify sellers and recipients.

Monero has also been used by various attackers. they accounted for almost half of all ransomware attacks in 2018. One of the largest ransomware attacks involving Monero occurred in 2021. Hackers stole data from the American oil pipeline system Colonial Pipeline and demanded $4.4 million in cryptocurrency as ransom.

Hackers have also used XMR to deploy cryptocurrency mining malware.. Computers infected with such viruses contain hidden software for mining the Monero cryptocurrency, which can slow down processes and wear out the equipment faster. This hacking method is also known as cryptojacking.