Monero is an anonymous, untraceable and decentralized cryptocurrency. A digital currency that aims to safeguard utopia cypherpunk. Is the true spirit of Bitcoin now on the side of XMR?
Monero, a crypto that encrypts
Monero is a cryptocurrency created in 2014. From the start, anonymity and privacy were the main concerns of its developers. Most anonymous, they work as volunteers on the project. Like Bitcoin, Monero therefore does not have an identifiable person at its helm, which makes it less likely to attack its protocol or its governance. Like the Bitcoin network, the Monero blockchain evolves regularly. XMR is inspired by the code of Bitcoin, but it is indeed a unique protocol with its own operation. This is called a hard fork. In other words, a bifurcation in the computer code, from the same starting point (in this case, the Bitcoin protocol of 2014).
Technically, however, XMR innovates in terms of cryptography by offering an innovative solution to cover their tracks. In this regard, XMR supporters often quote whistleblower Edward Snowden: ” Not caring about anonymity because you have nothing to hide is like not caring about free speech because you have nothing to say “.
Monero VS Bitcoin, the forbidden comparison
The nature of Bitcoin is often the subject of fantasies. Some sometimes present BTC as an anonymous currency, used by criminals to make transactions in stealth (or more recently, by speculators hungry for wealth and easy money). In reality, Bitcoin is traceable, since it is transparent: you can literally read its blockchain like an open book. Even if the addresses are pseudonymous, it is possible to cross-check transactions between different wallets in order to identify the owners. This is the principle of a register that is visible and can be consulted by everyone. Moreover, Bitcoin is an open-source and collaborative project. Qualities found in Monero, with a major difference: XMR is not pseudonymbut anonymous. The nuance is important.
While Bitcoin is traceable, Monero (or rather its developers) offers a algorithm particularly ingenious. A complex system that uses blockchain to make the exchange of value impossible to link to a wallet address. Just like Bitcoin, it uses a proof-of-work mechanism (proof-of-work) for block validation. The Monero network has so far resisted all security threats. ” Monero is what new bitcoin investors think they’re buying » according to Douglas Tumancreator of the podcast “ Monero Talks “. A reference to the famous Bitcoin Talks, forum which saw the birth of bitcoin under the aegis of the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, its inventor. A bit provocative, he does not hesitate to place Monero ahead of Bitcoin. For him, XMR is a kind of improved bitcoin, since it is the ultimate tool for maintaining privacy.
The philosophy of pure anonymity
XMR is therefore a bit to BTC what the Orthodox Church is to Catholicism: a “purer” vision of what a cryptocurrency without an intermediary should be. But between BTC and XMR there is a gap. XMR is less speculative, even though it is firmly installed in the top 30 cryptocurrencies with the highest valuation. Historical crypto of the ecosystem, it is of less interest to investors. XMR is not intended to be a speculative asset. Buying Monero buys the ability to exchange value securely and anonymously. The raison d’être of XMR being precisely to be able to trade directly in peer-to-peer, without intermediary. Besides, there is marketplaces to exchange services or goods for XMR
Monero remains a tool. In this, it is likely to be used by a very wide range of different political sensitivities. The sulphurous John McAfee, pioneer of antivirus and internet solutions, for example, supported the Monero project. This cryptocurrency is particularly acclaimed by libertarians (also say ” anarcho-capitalists »). They advocate a minimal state, or even no state, with the market as the only framework. Is XMR better than BTC? Can it ever outperform Bitcoin? If the question may seem absurd, Monero has many advantages to claim.
A community similar to that of Bitcoin in its infancy
The Monero community is gathering more and more followers. The fight against surveillance today brings together a wide range of political sensitivities. If it is impossible to draw up a real sociology, the Monero community specifically has geek and nerd. Nose in the code, they discuss ways to improve the protocol. A code which, moreover, is available in free accesssince the project is open-source.
With Monero, it is a kind of anti-surveillance utopia that is perpetuated. Worthy heiress of the counter-culture cypherpunk, the XMR crypto extends a certain vision of what the web and digital should be. You can find this article to learn more about the movement cypherpunk. Monero means by the way “ piece” in Esperanto, the international constructed language. A proof of the no border vision of the supporters of this crypto. Like Bitcoin in its infancy, the people working and supporting the project are therefore mostly privacy activists. Sometimes perceived as a ” sect », this gives them a certain resemblance to the first users of Bitcoin. Other people use Monero not on principle, but because it is sometimes their only means of survival in countries under dictatorship. This is the case, for example, in Afghanistan.
Privacy: towards a ban on Monero?
Today Bitcoin is less and less accused of facilitating terrorism, crime or money laundering. We are now more critical of its energy consumption. Finally, fewer and fewer people are talking about banning bitcoin (a nonsense, just like wanting ” ban internet »).
If Bitcoin is no longer attacked as much, it may be that it is less disturbing, that it is less subversive. One can also think regulators and monetary policymakers are confident about their ability to recover the protocol. The accumulation of Bitcoin in the hands of large investment funds or the professionalization of mining can for example alert. Of course, BTC is still controversial, but it is no longer the bane of institutions. At most, it is a pebble in the shoe of banks who would not like their customers to realize that a decentralized network makes banking intermediaries completely obsolete…
XMR, on the other hand, is the subject of more virulent criticism. Monero truly has the wrong role in the crypto ecosystem. Attacked from all sides, he has the audacity to want to preserve the privacy of citizens, as well as the anonymity of their transactions. It is therefore more dangerous in the eyes of institutions and centralized powers. Its only merit is that it is not as popular as its BTC counterpart. Lately, Monero is also seeing a surge of interest as the tornado cash affair erupts. By making computer code illegal, the American legislator opened a breach in the concept of freedom and privacy. Could a completely anonymous cryptocurrency suffer the same fate? For the Monero community, banning XMR would almost be a culmination. It would thus prove its truly subversive nature. Above all, banning a decentralized and spontaneous phenomenon has never really worked. In France, the Hadopi law is a good illustration of this.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is and will remain the number one cryptocurrency in terms of usage, popularity, value and longevity. But the true philosophy cypherpunk perhaps extends further today with Monero, which has a large following. A community of marginalized, utopian, geekanarchists or libertarians, but also people sensitive to the issues of the right to privacy and anonymity.
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