Monero (XMR)
Privacy cryptocurrency — hides sender, receiver and amount of every transaction.
Monero (XMR) is a cryptocurrency designed for absolute transaction privacy — unlike Bitcoin where all transactions are publicly visible on the blockchain.
Privacy technologies:
•Ring Signatures — signature from group of addresses, impossible to identify the real one
•Stealth Addresses — one-time addresses for each transaction
•RingCT (Confidential Transactions) — hidden transaction amount
•Bulletproofs — efficient ZK proofs for confirmation without revealing amount
On Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchain:
•Anyone can see: sender, receiver, amount, history
•Chain analytics firms (Chainalysis, Elliptic) track and deanonymize
On Monero:
•No one can see sender, receiver, or amount
•Even users themselves can't prove payment without "view key"
Controversies:
•Binance and many exchanges removed XMR due to regulatory pressure
•Used for payments on dark markets
•Proponents: "Privacy is a right, not a crime"
Mining: XMR can be mined on CPU computer (RandomX algorithm) — resistant to ASIC miners.