CT-015: Monero lore compendium
This is the 15th report in the Cypherpunk Transmission series.
WiP: contact me (escapethe3RA) to propose edits and new entries.
Motivation
Monero knowledge, although plentiful, is currently scattered across the web in various places: FAQs, weekly Reddit threads, books, papers, wikis and other sites.
This transmission aims to help new users find relevant and succinct answers, and offer veterans an up-to-date resource they can quickly reference.
Assumptions
- you want to learn more about Monero, or help others learn about the project
1. Questions
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Can ‘Mordinals’ still affect Monero’s fungibility if ‘tx_extra’ size is limited?
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How does BTC Lightning Network compare with Monero in terms of privacy?
2. Answers
Where can I buy and sell XMR without KYC?
Popular platforms include LocalMonero, Bisq, HodlHodl, and Sideshift. Visit Getmonero.org, kycnot.me, and the MO Resources section for a more complete list. DYOR.
What is the best Monero wallet for desktop?
The ‘official’ Monero wallets (Monero GUI Wallet & Monero CLI Wallet). Feather Wallet is probably the best alternative. Visit the MO Resources section for a more complete list.
Does Monero have hidden inflation bugs?
No inflation bugs have ever been detected. Review DangerousFreedom1984’s CCS to learn more about ongoing research efforts.
What is Monero’s maximum supply?
Monero has a fixed emission rate, not a set maximum supply. Monero entered its ‘tail emission era’ in June 2022, which permanently set the miner block reward to 0.6 XMR, forever. The current annual inflation rate is ~0.86% and will approach 0% in future years.
Where can I find XMR remote nodes to connect to?
lalanza808’s Monero.fail public node aggregator is probably the most well-known resource. ditatompel and tobtoht also maintain lists of Monero remote nodes (clearnet/onions).
How can I build Monero CLI from source?
To compile the official Monero CLI wallet from source consult the instructions on Github. A step-by-step guide is also available on Monero Observer (CT-002).
Can ‘Mordinals’ still affect Monero’s fungibility if the ‘tx_extra’ field is reduced in size?
Yes. MRL researcher Isthmus explains: ‘Even with the soft reduction in tx_extra size the ordinals will not blend in’. Consult PRs #8733 and #6668 to learn more about the ongoing debate about Monero and arbitrary data storage.
How does BTC Lightning Network compare with Monero in terms of privacy?
LN has privacy enhancing features, while Monero is private by default. Chainalysis started offering customers a ‘transaction monitoring solution’ for the Lightning Network in December 2021, but did not mention Monero. Read An Empirical Analysis of Privacy in the Lightning Network to learn ‘how a passive adversary can infer payments’ endpoints with very high probability’.
Did Monero have a premine?
No. Monero was ‘fairly’ distributed and there was no secret premine, instamine, ICO or token of any kind. While some people may have had an unfair advantage, everybody was able to mine from the very beginning of the project.
When does Monero celebrate its birthday?
The Monero blockchain went live on 18 April 2014. See how the community celebrated its 8th birthday in 2022.
What are the best Monero mobile wallets?
Cake Wallet (iOS/Android/APK) and Monerujo (Android/F-droid) are usually recommended by the community. Visit the MO Resources section for a more complete list.
What’s the recommended way to mine Monero?
The consensus is to avoid centralized mining pools and either solo mine XMR using the Monero GUI / CLI wallets, or use a decentralized Monero mining pool like P2Pool.
Observations
- always do your own research and never blindly trust any resource listed anywhere on the internet, including on MO
- this list is a work in progress and I plan to update it regularly
That’s it (for now). Please share this transmission with other inquisitive moneranoj.
Feedback
Let me know if you find this helpful and, depending on interest, I will do my best to post new Cypherpunk Transmission reports every other Monday.
Questions, edits and suggestions are always appreciated @ /about/.
-3RA
Credit goes to gnuteardrops from monero.graphics for the amazing xkcd graphic. Work and xkcd Script font licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0.