<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
(	O
;	O
Abbreviation	O
:	O
XMR	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
which	O
uses	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
with	O
privacy-enhancing	O
technologies	O
to	O
obfuscate	O
transactions	O
to	O
achieve	O
anonymity	O
and	O
fungibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Observers	O
cannot	O
decipher	O
addresses	O
trading	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
transaction	O
amounts	O
,	O
address	O
balances	O
,	O
or	O
transaction	O
histories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
protocol	O
is	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
and	O
based	O
on	O
CryptoNote	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
concept	O
described	O
in	O
a	O
2013	O
white	O
paper	O
authored	O
by	O
Nicolas	O
van	O
Saberhagen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
used	O
this	O
concept	O
to	O
design	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
deployed	O
its	O
mainnet	O
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Monero	B-Protocol
protocol	O
includes	O
various	O
methods	O
to	O
obfuscate	O
transaction	O
details	O
,	O
though	O
users	O
can	O
optionally	O
share	O
view	O
keys	O
for	O
third-party	O
auditing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
privacy	O
features	O
have	O
attracted	O
cypherpunks	O
and	O
users	O
desiring	O
privacy	O
measures	O
not	O
provided	O
in	O
other	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
States	O
Internal	O
Revenue	O
Service	O
(	O
IRS	O
)	O
has	O
posted	O
bounties	O
for	O
contractors	O
that	O
can	O
develop	O
Monero-tracing	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
roots	O
can	O
be	O
traced	O
back	O
to	O
CryptoNote	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
protocol	O
first	O
described	O
in	O
a	O
white	O
paper	O
published	O
by	O
Nicolas	O
van	O
Saberhagen	O
(	O
presumed	O
pseudonymous	O
)	O
in	O
October	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
author	O
described	O
privacy	O
and	O
anonymity	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
aspects	O
of	O
electronic	O
cash	O
"	O
and	O
called	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
traceability	O
a	O
"	O
critical	O
flaw	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Bitcointalk	O
forum	O
user	O
"	O
thankful_for_today	O
"	O
coded	O
these	O
ideas	O
into	O
a	O
coin	O
they	O
dubbed	O
BitMonero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
forum	O
users	O
disagreed	O
with	O
thankful_for_today'''s	O
direction	O
for	O
BitMonero	B-Protocol
,	O
so	O
forked	O
it	O
in	O
2014	O
to	O
create	O
Monero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
translates	O
to	O
coin	O
in	O
Esperanto	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Esperanto	O
moneroj	O
is	O
sometimes	O
used	O
for	O
plural	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
has	O
the	O
third-largest	O
community	O
of	O
developers	O
,	O
behind	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
and	O
Ethereum	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improvements	O
to	O
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
protocol	O
and	O
features	O
are	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
the	O
task	O
of	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Research	O
Lab	O
(	O
MRL	O
)	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
whom	O
are	O
anonymous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
key	O
features	O
are	O
those	O
around	O
privacy	O
and	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
contrasts	O
to	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
where	O
all	O
transaction	O
details	O
,	O
user	O
addresses	O
,	O
and	O
wallet	O
balances	O
are	O
public	O
and	O
transparent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
features	O
have	O
given	O
Monero	B-Protocol
a	O
loyal	O
following	O
among	O
crypto	O
anarchists	O
,	O
cypherpunks	O
,	O
and	O
privacy	O
advocates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
transaction	O
outputs	O
,	O
or	O
notes	O
,	O
of	O
users	O
sending	O
Monero	B-Protocol
are	O
obfuscated	O
through	O
ring	B-Algorithm
signatures	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
groups	O
a	O
sender	O
's	O
outputs	O
with	O
other	O
decoy	O
outputs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Encryption	O
of	O
transaction	O
amounts	O
began	O
in	O
2017	O
with	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
ring	O
confidential	O
transactions	O
(	O
RingCTs	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
also	O
implemented	O
a	O
zero-knowledge	B-Protocol
proof	I-Protocol
method	O
,	O
"	O
Bulletproofs	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
guarantee	O
a	O
transaction	O
occurred	O
without	O
revealing	O
its	O
value.Alsalami	O
,	O
Nasser	O
;	O
Zhang	O
,	O
Bingsheng	O
(	O
2019	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
recipients	O
are	O
protected	O
through	O
"	O
stealth	O
addresses	O
"	O
,	O
addresses	O
generated	O
by	O
users	O
to	O
receive	O
funds	O
,	O
but	O
untraceable	O
to	O
an	O
owner	O
by	O
a	O
network	O
observer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
uses	O
Dandelion++	O
,	O
a	O
protocol	O
which	O
obscures	O
the	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
of	O
devices	O
producing	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
done	O
through	O
a	O
method	O
of	O
transaction	O
broadcast	O
propagation	O
;	O
new	O
transactions	O
are	O
initially	O
passed	O
to	O
one	O
node	O
on	O
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
peer-to-peer	O
network	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
repeated	O
probabilistic	O
method	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
when	O
the	O
transaction	O
should	O
be	O
sent	O
to	O
just	O
one	O
node	O
or	O
broadcast	O
to	O
many	O
nodes	O
in	O
a	O
process	O
called	O
flooding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
researchers	O
highlighted	O
three	O
major	O
threats	O
to	O
Monero	B-Protocol
users	O
 '	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
relies	O
on	O
leveraging	O
the	O
ring	B-Algorithm
signature	I-Algorithm
size	O
of	O
zero	O
,	O
and	O
ability	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
output	O
amounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
"	O
Temporal	O
Analysis	O
"	O
,	O
shows	O
that	O
predicting	O
the	O
right	O
output	O
in	O
a	O
ring	B-Algorithm
signature	I-Algorithm
could	O
potentially	O
be	O
easier	O
than	O
previously	O
thought.Kumar	O
,	O
Amrit	O
et	O
al	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
A	O
Traceability	O
Analysis	O
of	O
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
Blockchain	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Monero	B-Protocol
development	O
team	O
responded	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
already	O
addressed	O
the	O
first	O
concern	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
RingCTs	B-Protocol
in	O
January	O
2017	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
mandating	O
a	O
minimum	O
size	O
of	O
ring	B-Algorithm
signatures	I-Algorithm
in	O
March	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
An	O
Unofficial	O
Response	O
to	O
'	O
An	O
Empirical	O
Analysis	O
of	O
Linkability	O
in	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Blockchain	B-Application
 '	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
researchers	O
presented	O
possible	O
vulnerabilities	O
in	O
a	O
paper	O
titled	O
"	O
An	O
Empirical	O
Analysis	O
of	O
Traceability	O
in	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Blockchain	B-Application
"	O
.Moser	O
,	O
Malte	O
et	O
al	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
An	O
Empirical	O
Analysis	O
of	O
Traceability	O
in	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Blockchain	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Monero	B-Protocol
team	O
responded	O
in	O
March	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Response	O
to	O
"	O
An	O
Empirical	O
Analysis	O
of	O
Traceability	O
in	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Blockchain	B-Application
"	O
,	O
Version	O
2	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Internal	O
Revenue	O
Service	O
's	O
criminal	O
investigation	O
division	O
(	O
IRS-CI	O
)	O
,	O
posted	O
a	O
$	O
625,000	O
bounty	O
for	O
contractors	O
who	O
could	O
develop	O
tools	O
to	O
help	O
trace	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
other	O
privacy-enhanced	O
cryptocurrencies	O
,	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
Lightning	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
other	O
"	O
layer	O
2	O
"	O
protocols.Franceschi-Bicchierai	O
,	O
Lorenzo	O
(	O
2020-09-12	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
The	O
IRS	O
Wants	O
to	O
Buy	O
Tools	O
to	O
Trace	O
Privacy-Focused	O
Cryptocurrency	O
Monero	B-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
contract	O
was	O
awarded	O
to	O
blockchain	B-Application
analysis	O
groups	O
Chainalysis	O
and	O
Integra	O
FEC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
uses	O
a	O
proof-of-work	O
algorithm	O
,	O
RandomX	O
,	O
to	O
validate	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
algorithms	O
were	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
resistant	O
to	O
ASIC	O
mining	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
commonly	O
used	O
to	O
mine	O
other	O
cryptocurrencies	O
such	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
mined	O
somewhat	O
efficiently	O
on	O
consumer-grade	O
hardware	O
such	O
as	O
x86	B-Operating_System
,	O
x86-64	B-Device
,	O
ARM	B-Architecture
and	O
GPUs	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
design	O
decision	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
Monero	B-Protocol
project	O
's	O
opposition	O
to	O
mining	O
centralisation	O
which	O
ASIC	O
mining	O
creates	O
,	O
but	O
has	O
also	O
resulted	O
in	O
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
popularity	O
among	O
malware-based	O
non-consensual	O
miners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
's	O
privacy	O
features	O
have	O
made	O
it	O
popular	O
for	O
illicit	O
purposes.Kshetri	O
,	O
Nir	O
(	O
2018	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
common	O
medium	O
of	O
exchange	O
on	O
darknet	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2016	O
,	O
dark	O
market	O
AlphaBay	O
permitted	O
its	O
vendors	O
to	O
start	O
accepting	O
Monero	B-Protocol
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
was	O
taken	O
offline	O
by	O
law	O
enforcement	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
relaunched	O
in	O
2021	O
with	O
Monero	B-Protocol
as	O
the	O
sole	O
permitted	O
currency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reuters	O
reported	O
in	O
2019	O
that	O
three	O
of	O
the	O
five	O
largest	O
darknet	O
markets	O
accepted	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
though	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
was	O
still	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
form	O
of	O
payment	O
in	O
those	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hackers	O
have	O
embedded	O
malware	O
into	O
websites	O
and	O
applications	O
that	O
hijack	O
victim	O
CPUs	B-Device
to	O
mine	O
Monero	B-Protocol
(	O
sometimes	O
called	O
cryptojacking	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2017	O
,	O
malware	O
and	O
antivirus	O
service	O
providers	O
blocked	O
Coinhive	O
,	O
a	O
JavaScript	B-Language
implementation	O
of	O
a	O
Monero	B-Protocol
miner	O
that	O
was	O
embedded	O
in	O
websites	O
and	O
apps	O
,	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
by	O
hackers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coinhive	O
generated	O
the	O
script	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
advertisements	O
;	O
a	O
website	O
or	O
app	O
could	O
embed	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
use	O
website	O
visitor	O
's	O
CPU	B-Device
to	O
mine	O
the	O
cryptocurrency	O
while	O
the	O
visitor	O
is	O
consuming	O
the	O
content	O
of	O
the	O
webpage	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
site	O
or	O
app	O
owner	O
getting	O
a	O
percentage	O
of	O
the	O
mined	O
coins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coinhive	O
had	O
been	O
previously	O
found	O
hidden	O
in	O
Showtime-owned	O
streaming	O
platforms	O
and	O
Starbucks	B-Application
Wi-Fi	O
hotspots	O
in	O
Argentina	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Researchers	O
in	O
2018	O
found	O
similar	O
malware	O
that	O
mined	O
Monero	B-Protocol
and	O
sent	O
it	O
to	O
Kim	O
Il-sung	O
University	O
in	O
North	O
Korea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hackers	O
are	O
demanding	O
payment	O
in	O
Monero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monero	B-Protocol
is	O
sometimes	O
used	O
by	O
ransomware	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
CNBC	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
2018	O
,	O
Monero	B-Protocol
was	O
used	O
in	O
44%	O
of	O
cryptocurrency	O
ransomware	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
group	O
behind	O
the	O
2017	O
WannaCry	O
ransomware	O
attack	O
,	O
the	O
Shadow	O
Brokers	O
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
exchange	O
the	O
ransom	O
they	O
collected	O
in	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
to	O
Monero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Shadow	O
Brokers	O
began	O
accepting	O
Monero	B-Protocol
as	O
payment	O
later	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
CNBC	O
,	O
the	O
Financial	O
Times	O
,	O
and	O
Newsweek	O
reported	O
that	O
demand	O
for	O
Monero	B-Protocol
was	O
increasing	O
following	O
the	O
recovery	O
of	O
a	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
ransom	O
paid	O
in	O
the	O
Colonial	O
Pipeline	O
cyber	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
May	O
2021	O
hack	O
forced	O
the	O
pipeline	O
to	O
pay	O
a	O
$4.4	O
M	O
ransom	O
in	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
though	O
a	O
large	O
portion	O
was	O
recovered	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
federal	O
government	O
the	O
following	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
behind	O
the	O
attack	O
,	O
DarkSide	O
,	O
normally	O
requests	O
payment	O
in	O
either	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
or	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
charge	O
a	O
10	O
–	O
20%	O
premium	O
for	O
payments	O
made	O
in	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
due	O
to	O
its	O
increased	O
traceability	O
risk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ransomware	O
group	O
REvil	O
removed	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
paying	O
ransom	O
in	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
in	O
2021	O
,	O
demanding	O
only	O
Monero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ransomware	O
negotiators	O
,	O
groups	O
that	O
help	O
victims	O
pay	O
ransoms	O
,	O
have	O
contacted	O
Monero	B-Protocol
developers	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
CNBC	O
reported	O
that	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
was	O
still	O
the	O
currency	O
of	O
choice	O
demanded	O
in	O
most	O
ransomware	O
attacks	O
,	O
as	O
insurers	O
refuse	O
to	O
pay	O
Monero	B-Protocol
ransom	O
payments	O
because	O
of	O
traceability	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
attribution	O
of	O
Monero	B-Protocol
to	O
illicit	O
markets	O
has	O
influenced	O
some	O
exchanges	O
to	O
forgo	O
listing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
made	O
it	O
more	O
difficult	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
exchange	O
Monero	B-Protocol
for	O
fiat	O
currencies	O
or	O
other	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exchanges	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
and	O
Australia	O
have	O
delisted	O
Monero	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
privacy	O
coins	O
due	O
to	O
regulatory	O
pressure.Ikeda	O
,	O
Scott	O
(	O
2020-11-17	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
South	O
Korea	O
's	O
New	O
Crypto	O
AML	O
Law	O
Bans	O
Trading	O
of	O
"	O
Privacy	O
Coins	O
"	O
(	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
Zcash	B-Protocol
)	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Europol	O
and	O
its	O
director	O
Rob	O
Wainwright	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
year	O
would	O
see	O
criminals	O
shift	O
from	O
using	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
to	O
using	O
Monero	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Ethereum	B-Application
,	O
Dash	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Zcash	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bloomberg	O
and	O
CNN	B-Architecture
reported	O
that	O
this	O
demand	O
for	O
Monero	B-Protocol
was	O
because	O
authorities	O
were	O
becoming	O
better	O
at	O
monitoring	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
many	O
online	O
payment	O
platforms	O
shut	O
down	O
access	O
for	O
white	O
nationalists	O
following	O
the	O
Unite	O
the	O
Right	O
rally	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
them	O
,	O
including	O
Christopher	O
Cantwell	O
and	O
Andrew	O
Auernheimer	O
(	O
"	O
weev	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
started	O
using	O
and	O
promoting	O
Monero	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
team	O
announced	O
a	O
partnership	O
with	O
45	O
musicians	O
and	O
several	O
online	O
stores	O
for	O
Monero	B-Protocol
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
payment	O
for	O
their	O
merchandise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2018	O
,	O
Bail	O
Bloc	O
released	O
a	O
mobile	O
app	O
that	O
mines	O
Monero	B-Protocol
to	O
raise	O
funds	O
for	O
low-income	O
defendants	O
who	O
cannot	O
otherwise	O
cover	O
their	O
own	O
bail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Film	O
Workgroup	O
released	O
Monero	B-Protocol
Means	O
Money	O
:	O
Cyptocurrency	O
101	O
,	O
Live	O
from	O
Leipzig''	O
,	O
a	O
documentary	O
feature	O
film	O
that	O
was	O
the	O
second	O
highest	O
grossing	O
film	O
for	O
the	O
weekend	O
of	O
April	O
10	O
,	O
2020	O
according	O
to	O
The	O
Numbers	O
.	O
</s>
