The Monero Moon (Issue 18)
The Monero Moon is a curated weekly newsletter regarding all things Monero.
May 25th 2021 to June 8th 2021
Development, Releases, and Technology
The Comit Network group, recently announced the launch of XMR-BTC atomic swaps on its mainet with the release of version 0.7.0 of the XMR-BTC swap tool. This is huge news as atomic swaps allow cross-chain trades without needing a trusted intermediary or a trustworthy partner. As such, atomic swaps help eliminate the risk associated with using centralised exchanges. It is likely cryptocurrency wallets will aim to integrate this technology as soon as possible. More information can be found here or in this easy to digest news article from CoinQuora.
Additionally, check out this blog post from the Comit Network titled How to build a Monero transaction that takes a look at the technical details of Monero transactions and explains what makes them work.
The Farcaster Group working on XMR-BTC Atomic Swaps provided a detailed community update for the month of May. Their current work focuses on the internal wallet of the swapping node (the walletd daemon) that isolates the secret key from the rest of the stack, the generic library that supports the swaps and its cryptographic primitives, and the interactions with the Bitcoin and Monero blockchains. More information can be found here. Feel free to chat with them at #monero-swap on Libera.Chat. Please note they have recently transitioned their chat channel away from Freenode.
Still unsure what Atomic Swaps are and the impact they may have on Monero and Bitcoin? Read this article from the Monero Outreach team. It does get technical, however it still provides a general overview.
Monero GUI 0.17.2.2 ‘Oxygen Orion’ was recently released. This is the official Monero wallet that is easy to use on your desktop computer. More information and download links can be found here.
Feather Wallet, a free Monero desktop wallet similar to Electrum, recently released Beta-7. This release includes the ability to open multiple wallets at once, added support for subaddress accounts, and many other features and bug fixes. Download the wallet here, and check out this Reddit post for more release information.
Seth Simmons pointed out there’s a great opportunity to earn a bounty on a few open issues for Haveno DEX. If you want to get paid in XMR to contribute code but are not sure about committing to something long-term then check out the bounties on their GitHub page.
Wondering how often Monero is used compared to other privacy preserving cryptocurrencies? Check out this chart of the number of Monero transactions compared other privacy focused cryptocurrenices.
The Secret Monero Bridge has launched on testnet! This is an exciting new development in the crypto privacy space that combines the strength of the Monero privacy coin with the wide utility of Secret Network’s programmable privacy, specifically privacy-first decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. More information can be found here.
An anonymous donor recently gifted 1711 XMR (approx $460k USD) to the Monero Project General Donation Fund. If you would like to create a view only wallet to monitor incoming transactions to the general donation fund you can find the wallet address and viewkey here.
Sadly, MoneroTipsBot is shutting down due to regulatory concerns. Thank you to OsrsNeedsF2P for the amazing service he provided. Be sure to withdraw any XMR held by the service. Check out this Reddit post for more information.
Arcane Corporations has released their first XMR wallet for testing, as they plan to integrate Monero into their DeFi app. It is their first Monero creation and they are seeking feedback so reach out to them if you can lend a hand. Check out their GitHub page here.
Monero’s block reward just decreased to less than 1 XMR forever. remaxi shared a GIF to celebrate the start of a one-year countdown to Monero’s Tail Emission which kicks into affect next year. The tail emission of 0.6 XMR per block will be starting at the end of May 2022, with the total supply of circulating Monero being less than Bitcoin’s until ~2040.
Monero, along with many other organisations such as Wikimedia and Ubuntu, are currently in the process of leaving Freenode and switching over to Libera.chat due to privacy concerns. Check out this Guthub discussion for more information, and read this Vice article for a wider view of the issue at hand.
General News
The official website GetMonero.org has been updated with many new merchants, fixes and improvements! Thanks to ErCiccione for all his hard work and check out this post for detailed information.
Goldman-Sachs’ recent report on Cryptocurrency listed Monero as a ‘Top Coin’. Check out the report here.
CoinDesk highlighted that the adoption of Monero by merchants and retailers continues to rise, according to updated metrics from Cryptwerk, an online directory of companies, websites, shops and services where people can pay for goods using cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Bitcoin.
Cake Wallet’s marketing stunt from the Bitcoin 2021 Conference, which involved a dumpster outside the main event hall filled with wads of Venezuela’s ill-fated national currency, the Bolívar, made it to the list of top 5 weirdest moments of the conference. Read the article on Decrypt Media, or check out the tweet below.
A recent Chainalysis webinar on privacy coins featured discussion about Monero. One of the speakers stated, “Monero is quite a lot more privacy focused than its counterparts,” and “Monero takes obfuscation and privacy to the next level”. Listen to the webinar here. Relevant discussion starts at 39:35.
Popular YouTuber Mental Outlaw recently published a video titled The Best Privacy Coins. The video compares and contrasts different privacy coins, concluding that Monero and Wownero are the two best privacy coins available.
Cake Wallet recently announced they have signed MMA fighter Yessica Ortega as a brand ambassador to represent Monero and Cake Wallet.
Watch the recent Monero Space Meetup from the 29th of May here:
Monero Talk recently interviewed Mark Moss, a successful investor, entrepreneur and YouTuber. The video highlights Mark’s strong bitcoin conviction and where Monero fits into his thesis, especially considering Mark’s strong warnings that cash is under attack. Watch the video below.
Did you miss the first Monero Twitter Spaces Event on 5/28/21? Don’t worry, you can watch (or listen) to the stream recordings on YouTube thanks to the team at Monero Talk! If you are able to edit the recordings into a condensed ‘Best Of’ highlight reel, please reach out to Justin here.
El Monero released a new YouTube video for Spanish speaking Monero community members. It features Rafael LaVerde from The Crypto Vigilante. Watch it below on YouTube.
CFP Cryptocurrency Village (previously Monero Village) at DEFCON 29 is calling for event submissions. Fill out this form and submit your talk proposal if you want to particpate.
Monero has the 4th largest subreddit compared to its marketcap. Check out this post for more details.
A recent CoinDesk article titled Consensus 2021: Can Privacy Coins, Exchanges and Regulators Coexist? featured a video of Craig Salm (Grayscale), Marta Belcher (Protocol Labs) and Chen Arad (Solidus) discussing how regulation and privacy can get along. Check out the article here.
That_Acanthisitta143 highlighted that a lawyer from Czech Republic law firm related to cryptocurrency (blockchainlegal.cz) thinks that Monero is one of the currencies that can effectively resist to state regulations. The video isn’t in English, but you can read a translation of the key discussion points here. “Monero can resist mostly because the parallel structure it has (network/nodes [in more crypto-friendly countries], community, technology) and that’s why a country won’t be able to properly regulate it”
FinCEN is set to host an Innovation Hours Program Workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies on September 9th 2021 FinCEN to Host Innovation Hours Program Workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, “focusing on the important role of privacy-preserving principles in developing technical solutions that enhance financial services innovation while countering illicit activity and national security risks that undermine the integrity and opportunity of the U.S. financial system.” Check out the media release here.
The book ‘Why Cryptocurrencies?’, written by Monero community member jonas_h, is now released in print! The book explains what cryptocurrencies are and what problems they solve, in a simple and approachable manner. If you want to grab yourself a copy check out this post for more information.
Listen to Monero Core member Riccardo “Fluffypony” Spagni discuss Monero’s early challenges to achieve decentralisation, and his reasons for stepping back in his previous roles within the Monero community. Discussion starts around 28:50.
Monero Flagman made another appearance at a protest in London. Check out the tweet below.
Bloomberg reported that Colonial Pipeline Co. recently paid nearly $5 million in ransom to Eastern European hackers, contradicting reports earlier this week that the company had no intention of paying an extortion fee to help restore the country’s largest fuel pipeline. It is said the company paid the hefty ransom in a difficult-to-trace cryptocurrency (Monero?) within hours after the attack. Additionally, listen to Bitcoiners matt_odell, openoms and cycryptr discuss the ransomware attack, and the ransomware group’s use of Monero, in the tweet below.
Exchanges and Merchants
You can now buy, sell, deposit, and withdrawal Monero in 48 US states using the new Kraken mobile app. Kraken also provide an informative and easy to understand How to Buy Monero guide on their website.
Need a privacy phone? de-googled.com sell Google Pixel phones with Graphene OS or Calyx OS preinstalled, and you can pay with XMR. They are offering free worldwide delivery until the end of June. Check them out here. A number of Monero community members pointed out this could be a scam or there is a possibility they sell backdoored phones, so please do your own research and exercise caution.
TopUp-Balance.com now allow you to top up your mobile phone balance and pay with XMR.
OnlyCoins, an OnlyFans crypto alternative, added Monero as an accepted payment method. Please note these sites provide a platform for NSFW content creators.
BitcoinMars.org will soon accept Monero according to hidden HTML text found by CluelessTwat.
u/nsg_vwap made a post to Reddit with supporting evidence claiming that the Monero gambling site crypto.games is likely to be a scam. In a GIF shared, a card appears to change value during a game of Black Jack. It is advised you exercise caution if you decide to use the website.
On the topic of scams, u/Better_Objective5650 brought to attention that FreeWallet Monero wallet, an extremely distrusted service, appears at the top of the Google Play and iOS App stores. To help remove FreeWallet from its ranking, please review your favourite mobile Monero wallet, give it a 5 star rating, and leave a positive comment. You can read through the many threads out there regarding Freewallet, and the selective scam that it plays on its unsuspecting users by following this link.
Want to buy or sell something for XMR? Head over to this thread on r/monero and browse things for sale, or sell something of your own.
Community Crowdfunding System
Thank you to all the contributors who supported the Monero Moon CCS! It is very much appreciated. And apologies for the delayed issue; it can be somewhat difficult to research, write, and publish when life gets busy.
There are a number of other Community Crowdfunding System proposals awaiting feedback and discussion. This includes proposals for mj’s Q3 part-time coding and an offshore banking server. The proposals can be viewed here and feedback is encouraged.
Trading & Speculation
Thackray takes a look at Monero’s transactions in a block, and analyses how the transactions per block has varied over the past crypto cycle and compares the relative over/undervaluation of Monero based on previous history, and what this could mean for future price action.
contemplatingcrypto shared a long term price target for XMR with $1000 end of year.
Don Yakka shared a possible XMR price prediction moving into the month of June. Check it out here.
Monero to $100k by You23. “Privacy is totally undervalued in todays market. Monero is tried and proven and worth of an adequate valuation.”
Performance
Total Monero in Circulation — 17,926,689 XMR
Monero Total Marketcap — $4,964,598,544 USD
Monero Coinmarketcap Ranking — #26
XMR/USD Price — $278 USD
XMR/BTC Price — 0.00771 BTC
LocalMonero.co Street Price — $305 USD
Average Transaction Fee — 0.00002 XMR ($0.05 USD)
Hashrate — 2.598 Ghash/s
Monero Mining Pools Hashrate Distribution —
Entertainment
Play Monero Mining Simulator V3 over on Scratch! Link.
Donate
If you like the newsletter and want more of this content, then shout me a round of beers by donating some spare Monero you didn’t lose during your boating accident.
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Support Monero
Want to help contribute to the Monero Project? Developers, marketers, event coordinators, translators, Instagram personalities, meme creators, public speakers — whatever your skills may be, it is extremely likely there is something you can do to assist. I urge you to reach out to the Monero community on Reddit, IRC (double check this as the Monero channels are currently migrating to Libera.Chat), GitHub, Twitter, or Telegram.
Past Issues
Past issues can be found here: Issue 17 Issue 16 / Issue 15 / Issue 14 / Issue 13 / Issue 12 / Issue 11 / Issue 10 / Issue 9 / Issue 8 / Issue 7 / Issue 6 / Issue 5 / Issue 4 / Issue 3 / Issue 2 / Issue 1
If you have any suggestions, corrections, or feedback, please contact me on Twitter @johnfoss69 or on Reddit u/johnfoss68.
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DISCLAIMER: This publication contains opinion for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Information may contain errors and omissions. Use solely at your own risk. The author of this publication and/or the authors of articles linked to from this site may have financial investments that may bias their opinions, including ownership of Monero currency. Always do your own research, form your own opinions, and never take risks with money or trust third parties with out verifying their credibility.
