Monero STORIES AROUND THE WEB
#XMR Price, Data, History and Stories | HackerNoonAll +/- % changes are for a 24 hour window
Price
$161.98+1.34%
Market Cap
$2,988,033,467+0.94%
Trading Volume
61,442,263.489-38.28
Circulating Supply
18,446,744.070
**Monero is a __[blockchain](https://hackernoon.com/wtf-is-the-blockchain-1da89ba19348)__ based __[decentralized ](https://hackernoon.com/an-introduction-to-the-decentralized-internet)[cryptocurrency](https://hackernoon.com/whats-a-crypto-currency-really-is-fa93a3efadb4)__ that uses a public __[distributed ledger](https://hackernoon.com/distributed-ledger-consensus-explained-b0968d1ba087)__ with technology that enhances privacy in order to achieve anonymity of their users when carrying out transactions.**
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**The transaction addresses, amounts, balances, and transaction histories cannot be seen, verified or traced by observers.**
## **History of Monero**
**The foundation of Monero has been traced to __[CryptoNote](https://hackernoon.com/what-is-monero-an-in-depth-guide-5d43f1917178)__, a cryptocurrency protocol described in October 2013 on a whitepaper published by Nicolas van Saberhagen. The paper described anonymity and privacy as the most critical aspects of electronic cash. The paper called Bitcoin’s traceability a critical flaw.**
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**A __[Bitcoin](https://hackernoon.com/this-time-is-different-part-2-what-bitcoin-really-is-ae58c69b3bf0)__ forum user coded the ideas into a coin originally called BitMonero which was later changed to Monero. The cryptocurrency has the third largest developer community behind Bitcoin and __[Ethereum](https://hackernoon.com/understanding-ethereum-a-complete-guide-6f32ea8f5888)__.**
## **Monero Biggest Claims To Fame**
**Monero’s biggest claim to fame is the privacy it can afford its users. Even though it is a public and decentralized ledger, all the transactions that pass through it are hidden from observers. This puts it above bitcoin that has all its user addresses, balances, and transaction details made and kept public. No transaction within Monero has ever been traced.**
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**Anyone can mine Monero. The cryptocurrency has made it possible for everyday people to mine it without specialized hardware. The only thing anyone needs to mine Monero is a functional CPU.**
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**Monero is unlinkable. No transactions that have been made to anyone can be followed to another transaction that has been made to the same person. This is because once Monero receives a number of XMR, they split the amount several times and use different addresses to send the crypto to the receiving party. No one can link the amount sent to a person as being from the same transaction.**
## **Monero Biggest Criticism**
**Monero is very popular among anyone with criminal need for transactions. __[Darknet](https://hackernoon.com/blockchain-cryptocurrencies-and-the-dark-web-1a6d85916314)__ markets such as AlphaBay accept Monero as the only acceptable currency as it is very difficult to track who is making a transaction and who is receiving one. Three of every five darknet markets accept Monero as currency, though Bitcoin is still the most widely accepted and popular type of currency there.**
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**Monero is also sometimes used by ransomware groups. These groups hold a system hostage and demand payment in order to release the system without damage. They accept payment in cryptocurrency since cryptocurrency is difficult to track and recover once it has exchanged hands. These groups are accepting only Monero as payment as it is among the most difficult methods of cryptocurrency to hack. Monero also accepts conversions from different cryptocurrency, hence why it is so popular.**
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**__[Hackers](https://hackernoon.com/getting-into-the-mind-of-the-hacker-heres-how-hackers-steal-your-keys-secrets-and-passwords-r382358g)__ sometimes embed malware into personal websites and applications so the victim’s CPU can mine Monero for them. The malware is hidden in a website or app or system and in most cases mines Monero without users being aware. They often do so to websites and apps and systems that get a lot of traffic at any given point in order to make the most of the malware.**
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**The appeal Monero has to criminal or illegal markets has made some exchanges refuse to list it. This has made it difficult for users with legitimate investments in Monero to exchange it for physical money or other cryptocurrency.**
## **Team**
**Riccardo Spagni is a South African cryptocurrency developer. He is the public face and a member of the core team for Monero. He spent many years in software development before he started an import/export business with his wife. The business was successful and awarded him time to tinker with Bitcoin in 2011. He was involved with a number of cryptocurrency related projects in 2012. He joined Monero as a lead maintainer in 2014 and launched Globee, a multi currency payment processor in 2017.**
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**The rest of the team remains anonymous of their own choice and are therefore not known. The original founder of the concept behind Monero, Nicolas van Saberhagen is unknown as they used a pseudonym. The founder of the original Monero, known as BitMonero, went by the forum username thankful_for_today and is not known either.**
## **In Conclusion**
**Monero is a cryptocurrency that has stood the test of time. The untraceability of the transactions that happen on the cryptocurrency ensures there will always be people willing to use it, whether for illegal purposes or not. However, the volatility of exchange of currency to either a different cryptocurrency or into physical cash is worth considering before any investment is put into it. The ability of anyone with access to a CPU is a reason many consider investing or working on the cryptocurrency or the cryptocurrency platform.**
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**__[Read more Monero stories on HackerNoon](https://hackernoon.com/search?query=monero)__**