Overview of Monero

Monero also called or known as XMR by some people is a type of Cryptocurrency with much more enhanced privacy features that was introduced or launched on 18 April 2014 by a Bitcointalk forum user known simply as “thankful_for_today” with the major purpose of ensuring privacy for its dealers, user, customers or participants as its strongest selling point. Monero as a Cryptocurrency is heavily decentralized and leverages on the already existing features of other Cryptocurrencies to introduce its own advanced more advanced functionalities aimed at obfuscating the trading transactions carried out by its dealers, customers and participants from the point of initiation to transaction conclusion.

(Image Source : https://monero.org/)

However, the focus of the Monero developers on the privacy of dealers and on transactions has also introduced a new dimension to it as the premier coin for anonymous transactions. Monero Cryptocurrency is growing very popular especially for people who want to carryout nefarious activities such as money laundry and tax evasion. Privacy of transactions is indeed a guarantee for dealers and customers or participants when trading with Monero.

The Monero privacy features are made possible with encryptions and embedded with complex algorithms such as CryptoNight, CryptoNote Protocols, and block-chain obfuscation. Every Monero currency unit can be replaced or swapped with another existing unit thereby eliminating the risk of blacklisting any of its coins due to illicit usage.

Complex ring signatures are also employed and built around Monero currency units to make them much more difficult to trace ad difficult for linking them to previous or future transactions.

The Monero currency’s privacy features are targeted at three transaction levels which are as follows.

• The senders’ transaction details are concealed in the mixture of other transactions.
• The Monero currency receivers address is buried or masked in other stealth addresses.
• The transaction amount is also shielded.

The developers of Monero Cryptocurrency must be doing something right as even Greg Maxwell who is the legendary Bitcoin developer and known for his criticism of altcoins have some positive things to say about the Monero Cryptocurrency. However, Greg Maxwell also criticized Monero currency’s scalability and uncapped supply which he said requires improvement.

SIMPLE WAY TO BUY MONERO

Choose an exchange:

The first step in buying Monero Cryptocurrency units or any other type of Cryptocurrency is to find a suitable exchange. The exchange is a virtual marketplace where Cryptocurrencies are bought and sold by dealers, users, customers or participants. Exchanges are in two categories or models namely; central or decentralized exchange. Some exchanges like Kraken trade in Monero and charge customers minimal fees for buying directly from them. However, there are other marketplaces or exchanges available for you to choose from, such as:

• Local Monero: Local Monero which is a marketplace that brings a large number of buyers and sellers together and also offers a large variety of payment alternatives.

• Kraken: Kraken is a very popular exchange and allows its users, customers, dealers and participants to make deposits with the regular currencies such as USD, GBP and EURO and then use the currencies directly to buy Monero currency units. However, participants on the Kraken exchange must pass through a vetting process. Customers on the Kraken exchange are allowed to also purchase Bitcoin with their regular fiat currencies and then exchange or swap the purchased Bitcoin with Monero.

• Changelly: Changelly is another web based marketplace that offers the additional payment functionality of allowing the usage of credit cards to make Cryptocurrency purchases. Residents of the United States Of America can also use their credit cards to purchase Bitcoin through either CoinMama or Coinbase and then go over to Changelly to exchange the purchased Bitcoins for Monero. Reviewers have advised dealers and participants not to make their credit card purchases directly from Changelly as the transactions are quite exhorbitant. Buy your Bitcoins from Kraken for instance and take them to Changelly to exchange with Monero. Customers or dealers residing in European countries have the option of also using their credit cards to purchase Bitcoin from Cex or BitPanda and then go to Changelly to exchange their Bitcoins for Monero currency units.
  Other major exchanges that support the exchange of Bitcoin for Monero in no particular order are as follows:
  • Bitfinex
  • Bithumb
  • Bittrex
  • Poloniex
  • HitBTC
  • Shapeshift.io
  • Evercoin
  • Bitsquare
  • Alfa Cashier
  • TuxExchange
  • Livecoin
  • Exmo

Create or select a Monero wallet:
The second step in buying Monero is to create or select a wallet. The developers of Monero have their own wallet which they name the ‘official desktop wallet’. Reviewers highly recommend the official desktop wallet. However, participants or customers that make this choice are required to download the Monero. Users or customers that want to create wallets can also go to the web and download the My Monero Wallet which also offers convenience of usage but does not require customers to download the Monero. All users of Monero Wallets are required to note the unique payment identification numbers linked to their addresses for receiving Monero currency units and also advised to backup their Wallets seed to make the recovery of their Wallets possible in the case of loss.

Now that you are ready to buy Monero:
The third step for customers or dealers who wish to purchase Monero currency units is for them to proceed to their selected exchange or marketplace of choice and start purchasing Monero. After purchasing your Monero currency units; dealers are advised to move their coins from the exchange into the official desktop wallets or the my Monero wallet that they created earlier. Moving your Monero currency units to your wallet and having them in your wallet gives you control over them and also creates a level of comfort for you. Now that you have control over your Monero currency units, you can start speculating or doing whatever you want with them but note that reviewers of Monero Cryptocurrency also say that they are good and worth holding for long term purposes. It is worthy of note that Monero’s unbelievable Cryptocurrency attributes have paved the way for its rising popularity and created a niche in the Cryptocurrency market due to its fungibility, privacy, and faster processes which has proven over time its abilities as an efficient product and a worthwhile investment.