Monero Cryptocurrency

4 years ago
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Introduction

Running on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and FreeBSD, Monero (XMR) is an open–source cryptocurrency launched in April 2014. Its main focus is on privacy and decentralization. Monero cryptocurrency employs a public ledger to record transactions in the creation of new units through mining. It intends to improve the existing cryptocurrency design by obscuring the sender and recipient information as well as the amount of each transaction. The mining process is also made more egalitarian.

Monero is mainly an upgrade on Bitcoin’s central ideologies of secrecy and decentralization. Private information in Monero is untraceable through the employment of stealth addresses and ring signatures.

Characteristics of Monero

Respect for Privacy: For every transaction, Monero uses cryptography to hide the addresses of the sender and recipient from viewers. The confidentiality of the sender and receiver is maintained by ring signatures. These ring signatures mainly combine the user’s account keys with the public keys that are received from the Monero blockchain. This method makes it impossible to link a user to a signature.
No Risk of Censorship: As Monero provides fungibility whereby an individual unit of a currency is interchangeable with another, it does not face any risk of censorship.
Contains Multiple Keys: Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other cryptocurrencies, Monero has several keys, which make its operation easier. The public view key creates a “one–time stealth public address”, which is namely the recipient’s destination. The private view key of Monero conducts a scan of the blockchain such that the recipient can access it. The public spend key is the second part of the Monero address. Essentially, the address length of Monero is 95 characters, including the public spend keys and public view.
Faster Transactions: The method of transaction of Monero is faster and more convenient. For confirming each transaction, users do not have to wait for multi–day holding periods. Additionally, this cryptocoin is not subject to ‘capital controls’ or measures used by a government to regulate flows from capital markets to and from the country’s capital account.

How to Buy Monero Coins

Monero cryptocurrency is sold only on Bitcoin and Ethereum pairs. Hence, to purchase it, you need to buy either Bitcoin or Ethereum. Any payment method with which you can buy Bitcoin or Ethereum can also enable you to get Monero.

Advantages of Using Monero

A More Universal Mining Algorithm

Cryptocurrency miners use mining to operate a program on the computer which verifies and confirms transactions. The mining algorithms of Bitcoin and other cryptocoins run faster on ASICs which are customised mining chips. A person who does not have access to ASICs cannot participate in the mining process of these cryptocurrencies. Desktops and laptops cannot be used effectively in these cases. Also, the power consumed in these mining processes is substantially high. To counter this, Monero’s mining algorithm was designed such that ASICs do not have any distinct advantage over ordinary computers. As a result, the general public can participate in mining Monero and earn this cryptocoin too. If you have a Monero wallet on your desktop or laptop, you could start mining with the click of a single button.

Better Privacy Features

Incorporation of the ‘invisible internet project’ I2P layer in Monero strengthens the privacy features of its blockchain during a transaction. It also leads to a protective layer that prevents passive network monitoring due to which the payments cannot be traced. It is even impossible for viewers who scan the network to tell if a person is using Monero.

No Limit on Block Size

Transactions appear as part of the block in the cryptocurrency network. The time consumed for new block creation for Bitcoin is approximately 10 minutes while it is only 2 minutes for Monero. Moreover, if the Bitcoin block has reached its limit, it takes quite some time for the next transaction to be confirmed. In case of urgency, the person has to increase the transaction fees. However, Monero is specially designed such that it contains an automatically adaptive block size limit. This implies that the blocks will expand to accommodate higher volumes of transaction.

Coin–holders have More Liberty

Monero coin–holders can exercise more liberty compared to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency holders. They have the choice to keep their transaction history private or share certain information. With the view key, a Monero user can see the transaction history of his/her account. The anonymity, privacy and security of transactions are thus Monero’s strengths, which give users more flexibility.

Precaution

You need to be cautious about the mining of Monero. You want to make sure that the security tools present in your computer are there in your mobile devices as well. This will ensure that the operation is as desirable. Also, it will make sure that unwanted cryptomining, which can cause permanent damage to your device by overheating and battery exhaustion, does not take place.

Conclusion

Monero positions itself as the cryptocurrency which precludes any compromise on privacy which can make users feel uncomfortable. Incidentally, certain companies such as the media outlet Salon has started using Monero mining as a way to supplement lost ad revenue from ad blockers. The prospects of Monero seem to be promising.

Source Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monero_(cryptocurrency)

http://www.alphr.com/cryptocurrency/1008497/what–is–monero–cryptocurrency