What Monero does

Monero is a decentralized, open-source privacy cryptocurrency launched in April 2014, operated by 'The Monero Project' — a loose collective of contributors governed under South African law rather than a traditional incorporated entity. The protocol is engineered to make every transaction private by default through three proprietary cryptographic primitives: Stealth Addresses that conceal the recipient, Ring Signatures that obscure the sender among decoy outputs, and RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions) that hide transaction amounts. Mining is conducted via the RandomX proof-of-work algorithm, which is deliberately CPU-friendly to resist ASIC centralization and promote broad network participation, with miners compensated through block rewards and transaction fees under a fixed supply schedule that transitions into a permanent tail emission of 0.6 XMR per block after the main emission of ~18.4 million XMR. The project is preparing the FCMP++ (Full-Chain Membership Proofs++) upgrade, beta-launched in May 2026, which replaces ring signatures with full-chain membership proofs to expand the anonymity set from 16 to over 100 million outputs and add forward secrecy against quantum threats.

The project's user base spans privacy-conscious individuals, remittance users in restrictive jurisdictions, darknet market participants (with 48% of newly launched darknet markets in 2025 supporting Monero exclusively), and emerging institutional interest via Grayscale's pending privacy coin ETF. Distribution is fully decentralized: no corporate sales motion exists. Acquisition occurs through centralized exchanges (constrained by delistings in the Philippines, EU, Dubai, South Korea, Australia, and Japan), no-KYC exchanges (Godex, ChangeNow, StealthEX, SimpleSwap, Changelly), peer-to-peer trading, and direct mining. The go-to-market is community-led, with no traditional marketing budget; development is funded and coordinated through the Community Crowdfunding System (CCS), the Monero Research Lab (MRL), community workgroups, and IRC/Matrix channels. Monero has no commercial revenue model, no equity shareholders, and no parent company; its 'monetization' is the network itself, valued at $6-10B in market capitalization.

Name

Monero

Legal name

The Monero Project

Website

https://getmonero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Monero is a decentralized, open-source privacy cryptocurrency launched in 2014 and operated by a volunteer collective. It uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT to make every transaction private by default, serving privacy-conscious individuals, darknet markets, and emerging institutional adopters via its FCMP++ protocol.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Privacy Cryptocurrency

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Crypto Payouts, Mass Payments & Treasury Disbursements (FSADAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Asset Custody & Key Management (MPC, HSM, Wallet Infra) (FSAGAMAB), Treasury Management & Multi-Sig Operations (FSAPAHAB)

Keywords

• Privacy cryptocurrency
• Decentralized digital cash
• Proof-of-work network
• Cryptographic privacy protocol
• Fungible digital currency

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Mining Rewards: Monero uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism with miners receiving block rewards consisting of newly created XMR plus transaction fees. The main emission is approximately 18.4 million XMR, after which a permanent tail emission of 0.6 XMR per block continues indefinitely.
2. Transaction Fees: Users pay transaction fees for each XMR transfer. These fees go to miners as an incentive for including transactions in blocks, complementing the block reward structure.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Monero is a decentralized, privacy-by-default cryptocurrency (XMR) that uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT to hide the sender, receiver, and amount of every transaction. It is operated as an open-source community project with companion CLI and GUI wallets, a research lab, decentralized mining, and a JSON-RPC API, and is undergoing the FCMP++ upgrade to substantially expand its anonymity set and add quantum-resistant forward secrecy.

Product overview

Monero is a single unified privacy cryptocurrency platform offering confidential, untraceable digital transactions. The core product is the Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency itself, supported by two wallet interfaces (CLI and GUI), the Monero Research Lab for cryptographic research, P2Pool for decentralized mining, and an RPC API for developer integration. The ecosystem operates under the 'Fluorine Fermi' release series, with major upcoming upgrades like FCMP++ that will replace ring signatures with full chain membership proofs to enhance privacy and quantum resistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency Privacy-focused, decentralized cryptocurrency where every transaction hides the sender, receiver, and amount by default using ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT; provides true fungibility and censorship resistance for users.
• Monero CLI Wallet Command-line interface wallet for Monero that gives full control over wallet operations, daemon connectivity, multisig, view-only wallets, and hardware wallet integration; targeted at power users.
• Monero GUI Wallet Graphical desktop wallet application for Monero providing a user-friendly interface to send/receive XMR, view transaction history, and manage wallet security across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• P2Pool decentralized mining pool Decentralized mining pool sidechain that lets Monero miners receive direct block rewards without relying on centralized pool operators; integrated into the Monero GUI wallet.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48% of newly launched darknet markets in 2025 supported only Monero, approximately triple the share from three years ago
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• THORChainmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2026THORChain completed Monero integration in early April 2026, enabling native cross-chain liquidity for XMR through decentralized swaps. The integration targets trustless cross-chain swaps between XMR and other cryptocurrencies, expanding Monero's utility beyond single-chain transactions. Simulation tests were confirmed targeting mainnet within two months of the April 2026 announcement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zcash: Zcash is a major privacy-focused cryptocurrency using zk-SNARKs. It is the closest direct peer to Monero and was named in the same DFSA ban in Dubai, highlighting direct regulatory and product overlap.
• Verge: Verge (XVG) is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that obscures transaction origins through multiple anonymity-centric networks (Tor/I2P). It is a direct peer in the privacy-payments category with optional privacy.
• Pirate Chain: Pirate Chain (ARRR) is a privacy-only cryptocurrency that uses zk-SNARKs with mandatory privacy. It is a direct peer in the privacy-maximalist category, though with smaller scale and liquidity than Monero.
• Firo: Firo (formerly Zcoin) is a privacy cryptocurrency that pioneered Sigma protocols and Lelantus. It is a direct peer competing in the privacy-by-default cryptocurrency niche.
• Dash: Dash is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency offering PrivateSend mixing on top of a Bitcoin-style base layer. It is a direct competitor in the privacy-payments crypto category, with optional rather than default privacy.
• Beam: Beam is a privacy cryptocurrency using Mimblewimble, focused on confidential transactions and scalability. It is a direct privacy-coin peer with overlapping technology and target users.

Emerging players

• Secret Network: Secret Network is a privacy-focused smart contract platform with encrypted inputs/outputs. It is an emerging peer in privacy crypto, focused on programmable privacy rather than payments.

Broad incumbents

• Grayscale Investments: Grayscale is a digital asset manager that has filed for privacy coin ETF products including Monero-adjacent exposure. It is a broad incumbent whose product decisions directly affect institutional access to Monero.
• Decred: Decred is a broader cryptocurrency with hybrid PoW/PoS governance and optional privacy features (CoinShuffle++). It overlaps with Monero on privacy/financial sovereignty but is not a privacy-only chain.

Others

• THORChain: THORChain is a cross-chain liquidity protocol that integrated Monero natively in April 2026. It is an ecosystem partner that materially expands Monero's reach into DeFi and cross-chain swaps.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/monero-project
• Xx.com/monero
• Facebookfacebook.com/monerocurrency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/monerocurrency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monero