One of the cornerstones of Blockchain technology is that it provides users with complete privacy. Bitcoin was based on this premise as the first ever decentralized cryptocurrency to be marketed to a wider audience who needed a virtual currency without government intervention.
Unfortunately, along the way, Bitcoin proved to have a number of weaknesses, including scalability and a changing blockchain. All transactions and addresses are written in a blockchain, making it easier for anyone to connect points and share users’ private details based on existing records. Some government and non-government agencies are already using blockchain analytics to read data from the Bitcoin platform.
Such bugs allow developers to look for alternative lock chain technologies with better security and speed. One such project is Monero, usually represented by an XMR ticker.
What is Monero?
Monero is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency project whose main goal is to provide better privacy than other blockchain ecosystems. This technology shields user information through hidden addresses and Ring signature.
Address stealth refers to the creation of a single address for a single transaction. Cannot anchor two addresses in a single transaction. The coins received are sent to a completely different address, without making the whole process clear to an outside observer.
Ring signing, on the other hand, refers to the confusion of key accounts with public keys, thus creating a “ring” for multiple signatories. This means that a monitoring agent cannot associate a signature with a particular account. Unlike cryptography (a mathematical method for securing cryptocurrencies), the ring signature is not the new child in the block. Its principles were examined and recorded in a 2001 paper by the Weizmann Institute and MIT.
Cryptography has won the hearts of many developers and blockchain fans, but the truth is that it is still a nascent tool of little use. Because Monero uses already proven Ring signature technology, it has distinguished itself as a legitimate project worth taking on.
Things to know before you start trading Monero
Monero Market
Monero’s market is similar to other cryptocurrencies. If you want to buy it, Kraken, Poloniex and Bitfinex are some of the exchanges to visit. Poloniex took over first, Bitfinex and finally Kraken.
This virtual currency is often linked to the dollar or against other cryptocurrencies. Available pairs include XMR / USD, XMR / BTC, XMR / EUR, XMR / XBT and many more. The trading volume and liquidity of this currency are very good.
One of the good things about XMR is that anyone can get involved in mining individually or by joining the mining pool. Any computer with significant processing power can mine Monero blocks with a few bugs. Don’t worry about ASICS (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) which are now mandatory for Bitcoin mining.
Price volatility
Although cryptocurrency is a huge network, it is not so unique in terms of volatility. Almost all altcoins are highly volatile. This shouldn’t worry the avid trader, who first makes this factor profitable: you buy when prices are down and you sell when they are on an upward trend.
In January 2015, the XMR was trading at $ 0.25 and hit $ 60 in May 2017 and is currently hovering above the $ 300 mark. The Monero coin registered an ATH of $ 475 (definitely high) on January 7, before falling below $ 300 with other cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, almost all decentralized currencies are in the process of adjusting prices from Bitcoin’s $ 10-11k to the glorious ATH of $ 19,000.
Fungibility and adoption
With its ability to provide reliable privacy, many XMR people have taken it easy to replace their coins with other currencies. In simple terms, Monero can be easily exchanged for something else.
Not all Bitcoin in the Blockchain Bitcoin is registered down, so when an event like theft occurs, not all of the coins involved work to be interchangeable. With Monero, you can’t separate one coin from another. Therefore, a salesperson cannot ignore one of them because it has been linked to a bad event.
The currency blockchain is currently one of the biggest cryptocurrency trends with a large following. Like most other blockchain projects, its future looks bright, even in the face of government repression. As an investor, you need to do your due diligence and research before trading in any cryptocurrency. Whenever possible you should have the help of financial experts on the right track.