What is Monero?

Monero is a decentralized cryptocurrency. It uses a public distributed ledger with privacy-enhancing technologies that obfuscate transactions to achieve anonymity and fungibility. Observers cannot decipher addresses trading Monero, transaction amounts, address balances, or transaction histories.

Monero works like any other currency but with some privacy and decentralization innovations.

Monero uses stealth addresses alongside ring signatures and ring CTs to “hide” the transaction and transaction amounts, enhancing transaction privacy. To further decentralize the network, Monero uses the RandomX algorithm to discourage the use of ASICs.

The Main Problems with Bitcoin and Other Cryptos

Bitcoin may seem like a perfect currency. However, under the hood, Bitcoin has many flaws.

One of the main problems with Bitcoin is that it isn’t actually censorship-resistant. A central bank or government can blacklist your address and block exchanges from accepting it. While there are ways to get around that, it isn’t easy. Monero, on the other hand, is censorship-resistant as it doesn’t display transaction amounts or receivers.

Another problem with Bitcoin and other PoW currencies is that they are actually controlled by a small number of people since they are really hard to mine, among many other factors. Monero is a relatively easy currency to mine and is ASIC-resistant, which makes it even more decentralized as anyone with a computer and an internet connection can start contributing to the network.

Bitcoin has a block size limit, which results in more expensive transactions and longer waiting times. Monero uses a dynamic block size.

Also, Bitcoin has a high block time, which means that transactions take longer to be confirmed and executed. Bitcoin’s block time is ~10 minutes, while Monero’s block time is ~2 minutes.

Bitcoin has halving once every 4 years. The halving halves the amount of mined (printed) Bitcoin in every block. This, by itself, increases price volatility and transaction fee volatility.

Monero has chosen a 0.6 XMR block reward forever. Any good currency wants to have as little volatility as possible. Monero is a currency, not a “number go up coin.”

Conclusion

Monero is basically what people think Bitcoin is. Here’s a great video about it.

Disclaimer

Tech has nothing to do with price. This article reviews the tech of this project and is thus not financial advice. Please DYOR when investing.

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Monero:

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