One of the most recent blockchain technology trends is privacy. Each address’s balances and transaction history on the Monero blockchain are not publicly accessible. In 2021, this privacy-first approach sparked significant interest in Monero. Continue reading to learn how to buy Monero and capitalize on this growing interest.
Monero History
Monero was first mentioned in the digital world in 2014 on the Bitcoin Forum. After a few months of operation, the Monero blockchain migrated to a different database structure to provide greater efficiency and flexibility to its owners. The same year, Monero was attacked by hackers, but it recovered quickly.
The Monero blockchain network was upgraded in 2017 to adjust the minimum block size and the dynamic fee algorithm. The website getmonero.org was also redesigned to reflect the changes within a few months. It also added multi-signature support to online transactions the same year.
In 2018, the website getmonero.org published content in multiple languages, including French, Polish, and Arabic, in order to attract global investors. Ledger hardware digital wallets have also begun to support the new cryptocurrency. The Monero Messaging System was also used to automate the exchange of multi-signature wallet information.
Monero previously stated that it would support blockchain pruning fully by 2019. By that point, many hardware e-wallets, such as the Trezor Model T and Ledger Nano X, had been optimized for Monero transactions. This was a critical step in making the token more secure.
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In March 2022, Biden announced an executive order on cryptocurrency regulation. Following this announcement, the value of privacy coins such as Monero skyrocketed, indicating that investors are beginning to place a higher value on privacy in times of crisis. This news increased the value of Zcash, as well as Monero. However, due to new regulations, Monero may crash once more. That is the unfortunate reality of trading cryptocurrencies like Monero in an unregulated market.
What is Monero?
Monero is the Monero blockchain’s native coin. It can only be purchased through a centralized cryptocurrency exchange.
However, financial authorities all over the world have been skeptical of Monero’s privacy concept. As a result, finding a crypto exchange that will sell you XMR may be difficult.
How Monero offers privacy
RingCT
Ring confidential transaction, or ringCT for short, obfuscates the amount sent in any Monero transaction. Simply put, instead of broadcasting the actual amount sent, the user sends only a small piece of information that appears to be random. This information is sufficient to validate the amount being sent while keeping the actual amount private.
Unlinkable Addresses
One of the most common Bitcoin privacy issues is address re-use. Receiving multiple payments to a single address allows anyone who knows your address to track your address’s balance as well as all related incoming and outgoing transactions.
Worse, because of the way Bitcoin handles change, even separate addresses in your wallet may become linked. Because of this, Bitcoin core developer Luke Dash Jr. stated that “only a fool would use Bitcoin as it is today for darknet.”
Monero has no such privacy concerns. Within its blockchain, all destination addresses are obscured, so that only the sender and receiver can identify them. The destination address at which one receives XMR will never be revealed by analyzing the Monero blockchain.
Instead, only a cryptographic hash of the destination is visible, which is unique to each transaction. The only person who can decode this is the sender or receiver. These masked addresses are referred to as “stealth addresses.”
Aside from the obvious privacy benefits, stealth addresses have a number of consequences, including the inability to determine the current XMR distribution among addresses.
Untraceable Ring Signature Payments
Ring Signatures are a method of concealing the sender’s identity in Monero. When you sign an XMR transaction, additional signatures are added to your own, making it nearly impossible to determine who sent the transaction.
Monero is a maze of mirrors for any potential tracker due to the combination of the three elements listed above. There is no definite linkage, only the possibility of linkage.
How to buy Monero
Step 1: Find an exchange
You can purchase XMR from a cryptocurrency exchange, which is a website or mobile app where traders can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
There are numerous exchanges to choose from, but you’ll need one that trades at least in XMR. While major exchanges such as Kraken and Binance support XMR, Coinbase does not.
Another factor to consider is whether an exchange includes an integrated wallet for storing your public and private keys, which are required for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Check to see what fees are charged for things like withdrawals, debit card payments, and so on.
Step 2: Buy a wallet
When you buy XMR from an exchange, you can keep it in your exchange account or transfer it to a Monero wallet. It is recommended that you keep your cryptocurrency in a crypto wallet that you control.
Hardware wallets are also more secure than software wallets. This added security is due to the fact that a hardware wallet cannot be compromised if your computer is hacked, whereas a software wallet can.
Hardware wallets, however, are significantly more expensive than software wallets. Most cryptocurrency software wallets are free to use, whereas hardware wallets can cost hundreds of dollars.
If you can afford it, a hardware wallet is a worthwhile investment in the security of your cryptocurrency.
Many crypto wallets are compatible with multiple blockchains, allowing you to use a single wallet to store a variety of assets.
The following are popular Monero crypto wallets:
- MyMonero (software): MyMonero is a web wallet, which means it is a browser extension that you install and use through your web browser.
- Monero Core (software): Monero core is desktop software, which means it is a standalone application that you download and set up on your computer.
- Ledger Nano (hardware): Ledger Nano is one of the most popular hardware wallets on the market at the moment and supports multiple blockchains, meaning you can keep your bitcoin, ether, and Monero all in the same wallet. Ledger is currently the only hardware wallet that supports Monero.
Step 3: Choose a payment method
Direct bank transfer is usually either fee-free or the most cost-effective method of payment. Many exchanges accept debit cards for deposits but charge the standard 2.99% fee.
Using credit to purchase cryptocurrencies is generally considered a bad idea. Because cryptocurrencies are volatile, you could easily end up in debt that exceeds the value of your crypto assets.
Step 4: Buy Monero
After you’ve created an account with an exchange, you can search through thousands of listed cryptocurrencies for trade. You can buy Monero by selecting it from the list. You can also use the search bar to find Monero more quickly.
If the price of Monero meets your financial objectives, you can then decide how many tokens to purchase. When you’re ready to make the trade, enter the number of tokens you want to buy and click the buy button to complete the transaction.
Buy and Selling XMR
Monero is one of the most private and secure cryptocurrencies available, thanks to the use of cutting-edge encryption tools. It is available on the majority of decentralized exchanges and can be traded without revealing any information about the sender, receiver, or amount transferred.
Bitcoin transactions, unlike Monero transactions, can be tracked by anyone on the market. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Zcash, only provide limited transparency into their transactions. This distinguishing feature makes Monero more appealing to traders than other cryptocurrencies.
Every 2 minutes, a new Monero block is created. Monero miners are richly rewarded for their efforts because there is no maximum block size. The hardware needed to mine Monero tokens is also minimal, making it a popular cryptocurrency.
Conclusion
The vast majority of cryptocurrencies are only useful for speculative purposes. Monero is one of the few cryptocurrencies that most reviewers feel comfortable holding for the long term. Monero has demonstrated that it is both useful and legitimate. When it comes to technology and adoption, Monero appears to have the upper hand among the most popular anonymous coins.
