Traditional CEXes have always been the biggest recipient of funds sent by illicit services, including CSAM vendors. Some CSAM vendors have transitioned almost entirely away from direct sending to CEXes, instead sending funds only to Monero-friendly instant exchangers. We can see two examples of CSAM vendors that made that switch in 2022 on the chart below.
The ring signature also decrypts the actual amount involved in any transaction. Note that the ring signature is different from the mixing and coinjoin anonymization technique adopted by other cryptocurrencies vying for anonymity. “Thankful_for_today,” an anonymous user of the Bitcointalk forum, coded on Bytecoin to create a fork named BitMonero.
Monero mining rewards
Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information herein. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with Recipient’s use of this material. Our data shows that CSAM vendors’ usage of instant exchangers that allow for Monero conversion has increased significantly monero analysis over the last few years. Monero is considered more environmentally friendly than many other cryptocurrencies due to its ASIC resistance and use of home computers for mining, which reduces both energy consumption and electronic waste production. However, it still consumes a significant amount of energy, with estimates suggesting that Monero mining could consume hundreds of GWh of electricity annually.
Look for a wallet that respects user privacy and demands little or no personal information. Avoid online wallets and privately controlled wallets like the ones offered by centralized exchanges. Transaction fees on Monero may vary with demand but are generally reasonable. The protocol can regulate fees by altering its block size to fit more or fewer transactions. The lack of smart contract support means only XMR transfers are possible on the chain, which helps keep fees down. Monero’s adaptive block size adjusts based on transaction volume, ensuring that mining remains efficient and the network can scale with demand.
Monero’s privacy-enhancing features
Monero, on the other hand, uses a series of privacy-enhancing technologies to provide complete anonymity and privacy to those who use it. Monero, therefore, was created to enable completely private transactions. But also you can actually always prove what you have done and show on the blockchain what you have done. You yourself can do that and you can make this visible to the outside world, but it’s your choice to do that as opposed to Bitcoin where it’s standardized, it just is out there. The second thing that Monero I think does better than Bitcoin is that Bitcoin will have these mining rewards halve every four years the rewards that the miners who secured a Bitcoin network receive is cut in half.
It is a completely voluntary system of donations where funding is distributed to vote on proposals, which the community keeps up with and gives feedback on. Monero can work this way well due to its small size, but this may limit its growth in the future. Of course, a centralized blockchain could hardly be considered private. Much like Bitcoin (BTC-USD), and unlike many newer altcoins, Monero was started as an open-source project, with no big corporation or VC behind it. Monero (XMR-USD) is privacy-focused crypto that enables completely anonymous transactions. Monero is unique in many ways, and I can see why some would be interested in owning it.
Equitable Mining
Some users disagreed with this direction and eventually created another fork in the blockchain known as Monero, or “coin” in Esperanto. Almost a decade later, Monero (XMR) is the top privacy coin by market capitalization https://www.tokenexus.com/ and has sparked important discussions about the role of privacy and traceability in the blockchain ecosystem. Not all CSAM activity involves cryptocurrency, and in many cases, users simply trade CSAM amongst themselves.