Monero is one of the standout cryptocurrencies, but what makes it tick and separate it from the competition? Monero is a privacy-first cryptocurrency, making transactions on the blockchain untraceable.
Want to learn more about Monero? This page is the ultimate guide, providing all you need to know before you decide to buy and trade Monero.
Best platforms to buy Monero – 2021
1
Minimum Deposit
$50
Exclusive Promotion
A multi-asset platform: More than 3,000 assets, including currencies, stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, indices and commodities
Buy crypto, or trade cryptocurrencies via CFDs
CopyPortfolios: Innovative, fully managed investment strategies containing either financial instruments or traders
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
2
Minimum Deposit
$5
Exclusive Promotion
3
Minimum Deposit
$50
Exclusive Promotion
What is Monero (XMR)
Monero is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy. It is designed to make transactions across the world anonymous, untraceable, cheap, and fast.
Bitcoin and Monero are similar in some aspects, including that both are used for payment. However, unlike Bitcoin, transactions details on Monero are all obscured, making it difficult to trace.
The development of this digital currency is traced back to 2012 before its evolution and subsequent launch in 2014. Monero has managed to stay competitive despite being a pioneer in the “private coin” ecosystem. This is in part due to the regular updates every 6 months and commitment to privacy.
Being an open-source project, Monero does not have a recognizable founder or CEO. A group of developers works on this project, although they have chosen to remain anonymous.
Funding for Monero is through the Monero Community Crowdfunding system. The system allows people to contribute ideas and money.
The market capitalization for Monero is roughly $5.4bn as of September 2021. The circulating supply for the coin currently stands at 17,9M, with a total supply of 18.4M XMR. The max supply is infinite because the blockchain will emit 0.6XMR per block after the total supply is surpassed.
Monero presents excellent trading opportunities. Its value has risen by over 8,900% since its inception. We advise that you add XMR to your portfolio, especially for the long term.
The Monero protocol is updated every 6 months to eliminate cartelization and monopolies. Recently, Monero implemented the Atomic swap, which saw its value rise by 20%. This feature aims to make it easier to execute trades between Monero and Bitcoin.
Here is a summary of the pros and cons that you should consider before investing.
Buy Monero now at our preferred partner
1
Minimum Deposit
$50
Exclusive Promotion
A multi-asset platform: More than 3,000 assets, including currencies, stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, indices and commodities
Buy crypto, or trade cryptocurrencies via CFDs
CopyPortfolios: Innovative, fully managed investment strategies containing either financial instruments or traders
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
| Pros | Cons |
| Privacy – cutting-edge privacy features like stealth addresses, bulletproof, and ring confidential transactions making it ideal for people who seek anonymity. | Monero is likely to suffer market dominance if any other major cryptocurrency decides to adopt full privacy |
| Supporting community – Donations and proposals from the community have kept this open-source project going. | Three mining pools dominate Monero, representing about 50% of the total hash power. |
| Updates – Regular updates after every 6 months, which focus on privacy. | The lack of max supply limit could ultimately cause Monero to suffer from inflation |
| Widely acceptable – Monero has gained acceptance from payment platforms and merchants. | |
| Dynamic scalability – The Monero blockchain is unlimited; therefore, transaction fees will remain low. | |
| Mining – Monero can be easily and profitably mined using regular GPUs and CPUs. | |
| Fungibility – There are no ways to link transactions to their owners or to trace transaction history. |
How does Monero work?
Monero focuses on the privacy and fungibility of peer-to-peer transactions by obscuring transactions on the blockchain. All this is possible through several cardinal features:
- Stealth addresses: Transactions cannot be linked back to the sender or the recipient by creating a random one-time address.
- Ring signature: A digital signature used in protecting the user information while attempting to make a transaction. Multiple users may sign the transaction, which would make it challenging to identify the valid owner of the transaction.
- Ring Confidential transactions (Ring CT): This uses cryptographic technology to help hide all user and transaction information on the blockchain.
These privacy features ensure an Authority or the government cannot block transactions. Unlike Bitcoin or fiat currencies that are easily tracked, the technology behind Monero makes it impossible for users and transactions to be traced. That is why Monero transactions are popular in the black market.
Just like Bitcoin, miners are incentivized to add blocks to the blockchain. Miners can use regular operating systems like Android, Windows, and Linux for mining.
Monero has a significant following on platforms like Reddit. There are several subs dedicated to Monero, including Monero, Moneromining, and Moneromarkets.
How to Buy Monero (XMR) online
Step 1: Find a suitable exchange
Exchanges enable you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. They also provide you with the capability to swap one cryptocurrency for another.
Step 2: Register and fund your account
Provide your KYC details and activate your account. Then, go ahead and deposit fiat currencies, e.g., GBP and USD.
Step 3: Confirm your order
The ticker symbol for Monero is XMR. Search for this, enter the amount you wish to buy, check the order and confirm the purchase. If you use BTC or ETH, check for the XMR/BTC or XMR/ETH pair and complete the swap.
You require to transfer your asset to a wallet. Head over to the Monero website to check out the recommended wallets, e.g., Monero GUI wallet.
Some of the top exchanges to buy Monero include Huobi Pro, Binance, Gate.io, and Changelly.
Congratulations, you’ve just bought your first Monero !
Top platforms to buy Monero
1
Minimum Deposit
$50
Exclusive Promotion
A multi-asset platform: More than 3,000 assets, including currencies, stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, indices and commodities
Buy crypto, or trade cryptocurrencies via CFDs
CopyPortfolios: Innovative, fully managed investment strategies containing either financial instruments or traders
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
2
Minimum Deposit
$5
Exclusive Promotion
3
Minimum Deposit
$50
Exclusive Promotion
How to trade Monero
Follow these steps to trade Monero.
Step 1: Select a suitable broker
Choose a broker that charges minimal fees because it will allow you to conduct lots of trade. Some of the top brokers include:
- Robinhood: Apart from providing regular trading, this broker also provides CFD (contract for differences).
Other reputable brokers include Coin Kong Trader and eToro.
Step 2: Fund your account: Deposit currency to your account.
Step 3: Decide the trading mode
You can use spread betting or contract for differences which involves speculating the market movement. You are not required to own these digital assets.
Step 4: Trading
It is advisable to set up a demo account before you start trading. You have the option of going long (long position), holding the coins speculating the prices will go up or shorting, which involves borrowing Monero and selling it at the current market price. When the market price fall, buy the Monero and pay back what you borrowed.
Frequently asked questions
What are the investment prospects for Monero?
Other digital coins also offer privacy-focused features, e.g., Zcash and Dash. However, Monero is still considered the best in this class. Its value continues to increase, with forecasts for 2021 pegging the price at above $400.
Is Monero usage considered illegal?
Owning, mining, and using Monero is legal, although cybercriminals have taken advantage of its privacy focus. Australia and South Korea are some of the countries whose crypto exchanges have delisted Monero.
Who created Monero?
A whitepaper was written by Nicolas van Saberhagen about a privacy-focused protocol. Not that much is known about him, although he is credited for creating CryptoNote, the application layer on which Monero is based on.
Can I mine Monero?
Yes, you can mine Monero. You do not require expensive ASCI mining equipment like in the case of Bitcoin.