What is Monero (XMR)?
Monero (XMR) is a cryptocurrency that hides the sender, the receiver and the amount of every transaction by default. It has run since 18 April 2014, has no company behind it, and is mined with ordinary computer processors. It is legal to own in most countries, but many regulated exchanges no longer list it.
Monero in one paragraph
Monero is digital cash with privacy built in. Like Bitcoin, it runs on a public blockchain kept by thousands of computers, and nobody can freeze or reverse a payment. Unlike Bitcoin, outsiders looking at that blockchain cannot see who paid whom or how much. The ticker is XMR. The name means "coin" in Esperanto.
This site is an independent guide. We are not the Monero Project and we earn nothing from any wallet or exchange.
How Monero's privacy works
Three techniques are applied to every transaction. You cannot switch them off, which is a big difference from coins where privacy is optional.
| What is hidden | Technique | In plain words |
|---|---|---|
| The sender | Ring signatures (CLSAG) | Each coin you spend is mixed with 15 decoys taken from the blockchain, so an observer sees 16 possible sources. |
| The receiver | Stealth addresses | Every payment goes to a fresh one-time address. Your public address never appears on the blockchain. |
| The amount | RingCT with Bulletproofs+ | Amounts are encrypted. A short proof shows no money was created out of thin air without revealing the number. |
Your wallet uses two keys. The spend key moves money. The view key lets a wallet find incoming payments without being able to spend them. Both come from your recovery seed, normally 25 words (or 16 with the newer Polyseed format). See Monero view key explained and is Monero traceable? for the limits of this privacy.
Key facts (October 2026)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Launched | 18 April 2014, no premine (a fork of the CryptoNote-based Bytecoin code) |
| Block time | About 2 minutes (720 blocks a day) |
| Block reward | 0.6 XMR per block since June 2022 (tail emission) |
| Supply | About 18.82 million XMR on 24 October 2026, with no hard cap |
| Mining | RandomX proof of work since 30 November 2019, designed for ordinary CPUs |
| Smallest unit | 1 piconero = 0.000000000001 XMR |
| Typical fee | Around 0.00003 XMR for a normal payment |
| Price snapshot | About $580 to $590 on 24 October 2026; all-time high near $797 on 14 January 2026 |
For live numbers, see Monero price and network stats. Supply rules are explained in Monero supply and tail emission.
Who runs Monero?
No company, foundation or CEO controls Monero. Volunteers and paid contributors write the code in the open. Many developers are funded by community donations through the Community Crowdfunding System (CCS). Changes to the rules happen in planned network upgrades that node operators choose to run. The project's official site is getmonero.org; type it yourself rather than clicking ads, because copies of it have been used to spread malware.
How Monero keeps changing
Monero upgrades its privacy more often than most coins. RingCT hid amounts from January 2017. Bulletproofs cut fees in October 2018. The ring size rose from 11 to 16 in August 2022. The next big change, FCMP++, is being tested on a separate network and has no mainnet date yet. The full story is in Monero history.
What people use Monero for
- Everyday financial privacy. With Bitcoin, anyone who knows one of your addresses can often follow your balance and spending. Monero keeps that private by default.
- Fungibility. Because coin histories are hidden, one XMR is as good as any other. Coins are not "tainted" by what a previous owner did.
- Donations and payments where the payer does not want a public record, such as supporting journalists or activists.
- Mining at home. RandomX makes CPU mining practical. See how to mine Monero.
Privacy also attracts criminals, and that is the reason regulators and exchanges have restricted Monero. Using it does not make anything legal that is otherwise illegal.
Is it legal, and where can I get it?
Owning Monero in your own wallet is legal in most countries. What has changed is access. Binance delisted XMR worldwide on 20 February 2024. Kraken stopped offering XMR in the European Economic Area on 31 October 2024. In the EU, crypto service providers must stop handling anonymity-enhancing coins from 10 July 2027 (see the EU 2027 rules). South Korea, Japan, the UAE, India and the Philippines also keep XMR off licensed platforms.
Read is Monero legal? and check your country on the country pages. For legal ways to buy, see how to buy Monero.
How to hold Monero safely
- Install a wallet that scans the blockchain on your own device, such as Cake Wallet on a phone or Feather on a computer. Our best Monero wallets page compares them.
- Write the seed words on paper and keep them offline. Anyone with the seed can take your coins.
- Never type your seed into a website. MyMonero, the old web wallet, closed on 6 January 2026, and fake copies of it now steal funds. See Monero web wallet and Monero scams.
- For larger sums, consider a hardware wallet.
Risks to know about
- Price swings. When XMR hit its all-time high in January 2026 it was roughly 80% above a weekly low set shortly before. It can fall just as fast.
- Fewer places to buy and sell as regulated exchanges drop it. Track changes on the delisting tracker.
- Network attacks. In August and September 2025 the Qubic mining pool claimed a majority of hashrate, and the network saw 6-block and 18-block reorganisations. Waiting for more confirmations on large payments is sensible.
- Taxes still apply. Private does not mean tax-free. See Monero taxes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Monero the same as Bitcoin?
No. Both are proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin's transactions are public and its supply is capped at 21 million, while Monero hides sender, receiver and amount by default and has a small permanent emission of 0.6 XMR per block.
Who created Monero?
Monero launched on 18 April 2014 as a community fork of BitMonero, itself based on Bytecoin's CryptoNote code. It has no single founder in control today; development is open source and largely community funded.
Is Monero anonymous?
Monero makes transactions private on the blockchain, but it is not magic. Exchange identity checks, IP addresses and timing can still link payments to people. See our page on whether Monero is traceable.
Can I still buy Monero in 2026?
Yes, but options depend on your country. Many regulated exchanges have delisted it, so people use the remaining exchanges outside the EU, swap services or peer-to-peer markets where these are legal.
What is the smallest unit of Monero?
The piconero, which is one trillionth of an XMR (0.000000000001 XMR). Wallets and nodes count all amounts in piconero internally.