Monero glossary: terms explained simply

Start here: the six terms that matter most

• Seed: your backup words. Whoever has them owns the coins. Learn more in create a Monero wallet.
• Private view key and private spend key: one sees, the other spends. See Monero view key.
• Subaddress: a fresh receiving address for each payer. See Monero subaddresses.
• Ring signatures, stealth addresses and RingCT: the three privacy layers that hide sender, receiver and amount. See is Monero traceable?

Terms are listed A to Z below. For how they fit together, start with what is Monero?

Monero terms A to Z

10-block lock

Received XMR cannot be spent until 10 more blocks are added, about 20 minutes. This protects against problems if the chain briefly reorganises.

Atomic unit (piconero)

The smallest unit of Monero: 1 XMR equals 1,000,000,000,000 piconero. Wallets and nodes count amounts in piconero internally.

Block

A batch of transactions added to the blockchain. Monero targets one block every 2 minutes, about 720 a day.

Block reward

New XMR paid to the miner of a block, plus the fees of its transactions. Since June 2022 the new coins are fixed at 0.6 XMR per block.

Bulletproofs and Bulletproofs+

Short proofs that hidden amounts are valid without revealing them. Bulletproofs arrived in October 2018 and cut fees; Bulletproofs+ replaced them in August 2022.

Carrot

The new addressing protocol and wallet key hierarchy planned with FCMP++. Developers describe it as backward compatible with existing addresses.

CCS (Community Crowdfunding System)

The donation platform where Monero developers and researchers propose work and the community funds it in XMR.

CLSAG

The ring signature scheme Monero uses today to hide which of 16 ring members is the real coin being spent.

Cold wallet

A wallet whose keys never touch an internet-connected device, such as a hardware wallet or an offline computer.

Confirmation

Each new block added after the block containing your transaction. More confirmations mean a payment is harder to reverse through a reorganisation.

Dandelion++

A method for spreading new transactions across the network so it is harder to tell which node they came from.

Decoy

An output from the blockchain included in a ring alongside the real coin so observers cannot tell which is being spent. Each input currently has 15 decoys.

FCMP++ (Full-Chain Membership Proofs)

Monero's planned upgrade that replaces 16-member rings with a proof over the full set of outputs. On a test network in October 2026, with no mainnet date.

Full node

A computer running monerod with its own copy of the blockchain. Using your own node is the most private way to connect a wallet.

Hard fork (network upgrade)

A planned change to Monero's rules that requires everyone to update their software by a set block height.

Hardware wallet

A dedicated device that keeps keys offline and signs transactions. Ledger and Trezor support Monero through wallet apps such as the official GUI and Feather, not through Ledger Live or Trezor Suite.

Integrated address

A Monero address with a short payment ID built in, used by some services to tell customers' deposits apart. Subaddresses are now preferred.

Key image

A unique tag created when a coin is spent. It lets the network block double spends without revealing which coin was spent.

Light-wallet server (LWS)

A server that scans the blockchain for a wallet using the wallet's private view key. It cannot spend, but it can see incoming funds and much of your history.

Mempool

The waiting area for transactions that have been broadcast but not yet included in a block.

monerod

The official Monero node software (the Monero daemon) that downloads, checks and relays blocks and transactions.

Multisig

A wallet that needs several keys to approve a payment, for example 2 out of 3, used for shared funds and escrow.

Output

A single amount of XMR sent to a one-time address. A wallet balance is the sum of the unspent outputs it can recognise.

P2Pool

A decentralised mining pool that runs as its own side chain, so miners are paid directly in the Monero block reward without a pool operator holding funds.

Payment ID

An older way of tagging payments. Long unencrypted payment IDs are obsolete; short encrypted ones live inside integrated addresses.

Polyseed

A newer 16-word seed format that also records the wallet's creation date, so restoring is faster. Supported by some wallets such as Feather and Cake Wallet.

Primary address

Your wallet's main public address, starting with 4 on mainnet. It is 95 characters long.

Private spend key

The secret key that authorises spending. Never share it.

Private view key

The secret key that lets a wallet detect incoming payments and see amounts. Sharing it reveals your incoming transactions but does not let anyone spend.

RandomX

Monero's proof-of-work algorithm since 30 November 2019, designed to run well on ordinary CPUs and resist specialised mining chips.

Remote node

Someone else's node that your wallet downloads blocks from. Your keys stay on your device, but the node sees your IP address and the transactions you send.

Reorganisation (reorg)

When the network switches to a longer competing chain and recent blocks are replaced. Monero saw 6-block and 18-block reorgs in August and September 2025.

Restore height

The block height from which a restored wallet starts scanning. Setting it close to the wallet's creation date speeds up restoring.

Ring signature

A signature that proves one member of a group signed without revealing which one. Monero uses it to hide the real coin among decoys.

Ring size

The number of possible sources for each spent coin. It has been fixed at 16 (1 real plus 15 decoys) since August 2022.

RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions)

The system that hides transaction amounts. Introduced in January 2017 and mandatory since September 2017.

Seed (mnemonic seed)

The list of words, usually 25 for Monero, that backs up your whole wallet. Anyone with it controls your funds.

Seraphis and Jamtis

A previously planned transaction protocol and address format. Development priority switched to FCMP++ with Carrot, and Seraphis is not scheduled.

Stagenet and testnet

Separate Monero networks with worthless coins, used for testing software. Their addresses start with different characters from mainnet addresses.

Stealth address

A one-time address created for every payment from the receiver's public keys, so the receiver's real address never appears on the blockchain.

Subaddress

An extra receiving address generated from your wallet, starting with 8. Using a different one for each payer keeps them from linking your payments.

Tail emission

The permanent block reward of 0.6 XMR that started in June 2022 and keeps paying miners forever, so Monero has no hard cap.

Transaction key (tx key)

A per-transaction secret that lets the sender prove a payment to a specific address. It is not recoverable from the seed, so save it if you may need proof.

View tag

A small piece of data added to outputs in August 2022 that lets wallets skip most outputs that are not theirs, making scanning faster.

View-only wallet

A wallet built from the address and private view key. It can see incoming funds but cannot spend, useful for accounting or watching cold storage.

XMR

The ticker symbol for Monero.

XMRig

Popular open-source mining software for RandomX, often used with P2Pool.

Where to go next

Ready to set up a wallet? Compare options on best Monero wallets. Curious about fees and supply? Read Monero fees and Monero supply. For the coming upgrade, see FCMP++ explained.

Frequently asked questions