Monero (XMR) is the world’s leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency, designed to make transactions completely anonymous and untraceable. Launched in 2014 as a fork of Bytecoin, Monero’s mission is simple yet powerful: to give individuals total control over their financial privacy in a world where most blockchains are transparent.

While Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions can be viewed publicly, Monero uses advanced cryptography—including ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions)—to hide the sender, receiver, and amount for every transaction. This makes Monero fungible, meaning no coin can be “blacklisted” based on its history.

Monero Fundamentals

• Launched: 2014
  

• Consensus Mechanism: Proof of Work (RandomX algorithm)
  

• Max Supply: No fixed cap, with a small “tail emission” ensuring miners are always incentivised
  

• Key Feature: Strong, default-on privacy for all transactions
  

• Community: Fully decentralised, with open-source, community-led development

How Does Monero Work?

Monero’s network processes transactions in a way that hides identifying information from public view.

• Ring Signatures: Blend a user’s transaction with others to hide the origin.
  

• Stealth Addresses: Create one-time addresses for each transaction, keeping recipients anonymous.
  

• RingCT: Conceals the amount transferred.
  

The result? Anyone looking at the Monero blockchain sees only encrypted, unrelated pieces of data—never a traceable transaction history.

How to Make Monero (XMR)

Monero is mined using CPUs or GPUs, thanks to its ASIC-resistant RandomX algorithm. This keeps mining accessible to individuals rather than centralised in large-scale farms. You can mine solo, join a pool, or acquire Monero through exchanges (where permitted).

What is Monero Used For?

Monero’s core use case is private, censorship-resistant value transfer. It’s used by privacy advocates, individuals in countries with strict capital controls, and anyone who values financial confidentiality.

Is Monero a Good Investment?

Monero is not without challenges—its privacy features face regulatory scrutiny, and some exchanges have delisted it. However, demand for privacy and fungibility remains strong. If privacy becomes a larger concern in the digital economy, Monero’s role could strengthen.

The thing to remember about Monero:
Monero delivers unmatched on-chain privacy, making it the gold standard for anonymous transactions in cryptocurrency.