The active actions of the governments of different countries aimed at tightening control over the cryptocurrency market are forcing investors to think about buying anonymous coins. The most capitalized of them today is Monero. In the Coinmarketcap rating, it takes 24th place. How good is it to buy Monero?
Blockchain features
Monero was launched in 2014 as a hard fork of Bytecoin and was originally called BitMonero. It is one of the oldest digital currencies in existence today. One of the main goals of the Monero project is to provide maximum privacy and security for its users. This makes it very easy to use and effective.
Blockchain is an open and transparent public registry that allows you to track the identities of participants in bitcoin transactions. During the existence of cryptocurrencies, a huge amount of data has been accumulated in the registry for analysis and technologies have improved. Today, linking a specific crypto wallet to a specific person is technically even easier than 5 or 7 years ago.
Monero cares about the privacy of its users. This blockchain is anonymous as it uses advanced cryptography to hide the identity of the sender and recipient. However, if you exchange Monero to Bitcoin, further movements of funds will be visible.
According to the original protocol, Monero used CryptoNote technology to sign transactions. This technology used one-time keys, ring signatures, and two-way encryption to hide the origin, destination, and nature of transactions on the blockchain.
In January 2017, developers implemented Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT) technology, which effectively concealed transaction amounts. The antitrust authority has recommended the use of a Multi-Level Linked Signature of a Spontaneous Anonymous Group (MLSAG) ring signature to effectively hide transaction details. To verify transactions, an open source anonymous coin generation method is used.
A few years later, MLSAG signatures were replaced by CLSAG signatures on the network, and transaction processing speed increased by about 20%.
As a result, Monero does not have a traceable transaction history, unlike other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. That is, users of the platform enter a much more secure network and are not at risk of blocking the device.
Coin prospects
XMR has received recognition from both investors and traders and blockchain experts due to its status as the best anonymous cryptocurrency. Although its rate, like that of other digital assets, may fluctuate, the market potential is quite high.
Monero's privacy enhancement technologies are considered among the best. In particular, they are used:
- Ring Confidential Transactions;
- Stealth addresses;
- Bulletproofs.
Some critics accuse Monero of centralization, as most of the network's power is owned by just three mining pools. This situation is not desirable, because the more evenly distributed the power, the more secure the network. However, currently the leading pool includes almost 40% of all capacities.
Where to buy XMR
The coin can be mined just like Bitcoin, but buying Monero mining hardware and delving into all the intricacies of the process is not practical for most users.
The most reliable and fastest way to buy XMR is to use the services of a cryptocurrency exchange. The coin is available for purchase with fiat and other cryptocurrencies on Binance, Huobi, KuCoin and many other platforms. However, exchanges have a significant drawback: the need to verify the account and the further, the more stringent the requirements. That is, your anonymity will safely end directly at the door of the market.
From the point of view of anonymity, P2P platforms and instant exchange services are more preferable, many of which are available even without registration.
Relationship of regulators to XMR
In 2022, many countries continued to work on the regulation of the digital asset market, while the regulators drew attention to anonymity, which is one of the main disadvantages of digital assets in terms of centralized power. The high level of privacy of cryptocurrencies limits the ability of authorities to track transactions and fight against illegal activities.
Due to the high anonymity of Monero, regulators treat this cryptocurrency extremely negatively. Many industry players have begun to move away from privacy-enhanced cryptocurrencies, including XMR, in order to comply with legal requirements.