Monero 0.17.0.0 “Oxygen Orion” released
September 17th, 2020
Overview
This is the v0.17.0.0 release of the Monero software. This major release is due to the October 17th network upgrade, which in turn adds support for the CLSAG transaction format which improves verification speed and reduces transaction s…
Privacy Options Underutilized in Cryptocurrency Usage: Report
September 4th, 2020
Advances in cryptography have not met with user enthusiasm, suggesting a disconnect between the cryptocurrency community and its cypherpunk ancestors. According to Coin Metrics, transactions of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), and grin only add up to 6% of bitcoin’s transactions. Zcash’s privacy feature is significantly underutilized, with less than 2% of transactions fully…
A note on scheduled Monero protocol upgrades
September 1st, 2020
Lately, there has been some misconception about the scheduled protocol upgrade policy as well as the original intent of the policy. The goal of this post is to provide further clarity to stakeholders. Approximately five years ago, a somewhat formal policy was introduced to provide clarity to the ecosystem with respect to protocol upgrades. The…
Telecom Argentina S.A Hit by Major Ransomware Attack, Criminals Demand $7.5M Worth of Monero
July 21st, 2020
Telecom Argentina S.A has been hit by a ransomware attack and the cyber-criminals are demanding $7.5 million paid in the privacy coin Monero. The Spanish language site, elperiodista.com quotes anonymous employees stating that the attack started last Wednesday. Initially thought to be a small IT problem, the cyber-attacks have reportedly crippled the company’s IT systems….
Amir Taaki Knocks Bitcoin Coinjoin Schemes – Calls Methods ‘Absolute Garbage’
July 21st, 2020
On July 17, the well known Dark Wallet creator and early Bitcoin developer, Amir Taaki, criticized bitcoin privacy methods on Twitter. Taaki claimed that UTXO mixing concepts like Coinjoin were “absolute garbage.” Taaki also knocked other concepts like Mimblewimble and privacy-centric coins like Monero as well, claiming that zero-knowledge accumulators will be the “anonymous gold…
142 Million Guests: Hackers Attempt to Sell MGM Grand Data Dump for Cryptocurrency
July 19th, 2020
Last year the giant resort firm MGM Grand was hacked and the cybercriminals ostensibly obtained a massive dump of names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth. Now according to vendors on the deep web, hackers have been trying to sell the data dump for Monero or bitcoin. The hackers claim the dump has over…
New Report Finds North Korean Mining of XMR Increased Tenfold in 2019
February 13th, 2020
A report published by cybersecurity organization Insikt Group claims internet use in North Korea has grown significantly in the past three years. The group cites a “300% increase in the volume of activity to and from North Korean networks since 2017,” and part of this activity involves monero (XMR) mining. Insikt observes a tenfold increase…
Monero Price Analysis: XMR 5% Gain Stands Out In Bearish Market
September 2nd, 2019
Cryptocurrencies remained extensively depressed during the weekend sessions. However, for the selected few like Monero, shallow recovery was strikingly visible. From August lows at $65.58 (Fibonacci swing low), XMR/USD made a brilliant move stepping above the 23.6% Fib retracement level taken between the last swing high of $91.56 to a swing low of $65.58. The…
Monero Upgrade, Revolut Auto Exchange, SETL Administration
March 11th, 2019
We cover the latest protocol upgrade to privacy coin monero (XMR), a new feature for traders using Revolut, and the blockchain-based corporate settlements platform SETL appointing administrators for the business. Monero Undergoes Protocol Upgrade The Monero development team has confirmed that its scheduled protocol upgrade was completed successfully. The hard fork introduced four main changes…
Another Hard Fork Coming for Monero [XMR]? Analysis says ASIC Dominates Monero Hashrate
February 9th, 2019
According to the latest analysis, Monero, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency which is known for using ring signatures to obfuscate the actual sender of a transaction is dominated by ASICs, and if it is indeed correct, Monero community would have to make a decision, once more. In the analysis performed by MoneroCrusher, a pseudo-anonymous user suggests that…