Monero Price Prediction, will XMR’s price hit $287.23?

Monero (XMR): An overview

Source: Getmonero.org

Monero (XMR) is a private, decentralized cryptocurrency based on the open-source CryptoNote code. Focused on privacy and fungibility, it employs advanced cryptography to conceal user identities and transaction details. The primary objective of this cryptocurrency is to ensure transaction confidentiality while making transactions untraceable and secure. 

By default, the identities of the sender, receiver, and transaction amount remain anonymous, enhancing the overall privacy of transactions. This makes Monero an appealing option for those who value privacy and security in the digital realm.

The network is highly scalable, with a new block generated approximately every two minutes. There is no set limit on the block size; however, a block reward incentive is in place to promote dynamic scalability and maintain the network's efficiency. Currently, there are 18.34 million XMR in circulation.

To ensure continued incentives for mining Monero and maintaining its security, the network established an infinite emission system. It consisted of two primary components:

• The initial main curve emission of approximately 18.132 million coins was completed by the end of May 2022.
• The tail curve emission of 0.6 XMR per two-minute block began once the main emission was finished. The tail emission is designed to result in less than 1% inflation, gradually decreasing over time.

How does Monero function?

Source: Monero/Twitter

Monero employs RandomX, a Proof-of-Work (POW) algorithm developed by members of the Monero community. The algorithm is specifically designed to be resistant to ASIC mining, as it can lead to the centralization and concentration of mining power in the hands of a few companies.

The algorithm is intended to render the use of mining-specific hardware impractical, as it allows mining through a CPU or GPU, leading to enhanced sustainability.

To increase transaction tracking difficulty and conceal the identities of both the sender and receiver, Monero uses three advanced cryptographic techniques:

Stealth addresses: These unique, one-time addresses are generated for each transaction, enabling users to send funds without revealing the recipient's identity or transaction details. Since stealth addresses are not linked to a specific user or public key, transactions remain untraceable and anonymous.

RingCT: This feature allows Monero users to conceal transaction amounts by using a cryptographic commitment scheme. The sender can prove the transaction's validity without disclosing the exact amount sent, ensuring user privacy while maintaining transaction integrity.

Ring signatures: These digital signatures allow a group of users who possess a private key to sign a transaction, making it difficult to determine who initiated it. With ring signatures, Monero users select a group of users to sign a transaction with them, hiding the sender's identity from external parties.

The blockchain undergoes scheduled hard forks every six months to enable consistent evolution. This provides ample time for users to update before being forked away from the network. Hard forks typically consist of various improvements, ranging from bug fixes and patches to changes in hashing algorithms and enhancements in functionality.

Monero’s journey

Source: Monero/Twitter

Monero's story began with the launch of the CryptoNote protocol in 2012, a technology designed to address the privacy and security concerns associated with Bitcoin (BTC). The white paper for the protocol was published by an anonymous author under the alias Nicolas van Saberhagen. The paper aimed to address a major flaw in Bitcoin — traceability.

Here is a timeline of Monero’s journey:

• In July 2012, Bytecoin, the first cryptocurrency based on the CryptoNote protocol, was launched. However, the project was short-lived as allegations surfaced that its supply had been tampered with by the developers.
• In April 2014, Bytecoin's codebase was forked to create BitMonero. Ricardo Spagni, aka Fluffypony, led a team of mostly pseudonymous developers responsible for the primary development of BitMonero. The community soon decided to shorten the name to "Monero."
• At its inception in 2014, Monero adopted the CryptoNight Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, designed to ensure greater decentralization by being more resistant to ASIC mining. Ring signatures and stealth addresses were also introduced that year.
• In January 2017, Monero underwent its first hard fork, incorporating the Ring CT feature to further enhance its privacy. This solution was proposed by Bitcoin Core developer Greg Maxwell.
• In October 2018, Monero replaced the zero-knowledge range proofs that were previously used for its secure transactions with bulletproofs, a zero-knowledge proof method. Bulletproofs cut the size of its confidential transactions by at least 80%. This considerably improves transaction efficiency.
• In November 2019, the Monero team updated its PoW algorithm to RandomX.
• In December 2019, Riccardo Spagni stepped down from the project.
• In August 2022, another non-contentious hard fork was launched. It was completed at block 2,688,888. This led to an increase in Monero's ring size from 11 to 16. Additionally, the network update changed the "Bulletproofs'' algorithm to speed up transactions and reduce their size by around 5 to 7%. It also reduced wallet sync time by up to 40%. 

Other key developments

Source: Monero/Twitter

Some of Monero's major upgrades/developments are:

• In April 2014, the network was upgraded, adjusting the minimum block size and introducing a dynamic fee algorithm.
• In August 2018, Kovri Alpha was released, which used I2P routing to entirely conceal the user's location while interacting with any cryptocurrency.
• In December 2018, Monero implemented the Monero Messaging System (MMS) to automate the exchange of multi-signature wallet information.
• In March 2019, the Forum Funding System (FFS) was replaced by the New Community Crowdfunding System (CCS).
• In July 2019, Monero introduced the blockchain pruning feature, allowing node operators to download and sync only 1/3 of the blockchain.
• In April 2020, the Dandelion++ protocol was implemented.
• In August 2021, the Atomic Swap implementation done by the COMIT team was made available for use on Monero's network. Atomic swaps are a way to exchange two cryptocurrencies without relying on a trusted third party.
• In October 2021, Monero introduced a peer-to-peer (P2P) XMR mining pool called P2Pool. The pool was developed from scratch by SChernykh.
• In April 2023, Monero 0.18.2.2 Fluorine Fermi was released.  This added a size limit for tx_extra in the tx pool.
• In October 2023, Monero GUI 0.18.3.1 Fluorine Fermi was released, adding support for macOS ARM.