Monero: What is There to Know?
Having been created in 2014, Monero (meaning “coin” in Esperanto) is one of the youngest cryptocurrencies out there. What distinguishes this one from the others, Bitcoin-like cryptocurrencies, is its own protocol CryptoNote and the fact that Monero uses its own algorithm – CryptoNight. The most prominent advantages are privacy and anonymity.
The current value of Monero is 343.29 USD and in the last twenty-four hours (17 Dec) we have seen almost a 9 percent rise. During 2016, the value of Monero rose almost thirty times (by about 2076 percent). In 2017, the upward trend has still been consistent, after the company had to fix a few mistakes in the system in spring 2017.
How does the system work?
Approving and verifying Monero transactions is done by miners via a special programme on their computer, connected to the Monero network. These transactions are, by the means of a special hash function, turned into a miniature. The result of this is a “hash” – computers then use the trial-and-error method to pair this hash with the newest transactions recorded in the network. The miner whose computer pairs these first gets a reward (about 6 XMR).
It is possible to buy Monero on online websites (such as Changelly.com), alternatively get hold of this cryptocurrency by mining. In case you’d like to invest in Monero’s growth, this can be done by the means of brokers, such as 24option.com or eToro (these two brokers also offer a free trial account for you to test the whole system out).
What is next?
The future of Monero is a bit debatable, at least for now. Given the nature of the whole system, Monero is not the best example of decentralization (compared to other cryptocurrencies), since its developers often perform the so-called “hard-forks”, which are quite significant alterations and modifications. The system is also being criticized for its centralized mining.