- Monero transactions are more private than Bitcoin transactions and can offer people more privacy.
- Monero transactions may not be entirely non-traceable, but offer much greater privacy protection than Bitcoin and CBDC’s.
The Privacy Features of Monero Transactions
Bitcoin has always been known to be anonymous with its transactions, therefore, making it difficult to trace. However, Monero transactions are more private as its transactions are hidden for anyone looking on the block explorer with only a Monero address.
Over the past years, there have been more cases of Bitcoin transactions being tracked down. Though the transactions do not show the sender and recipient’s names, it is recorded on a public ledger where the wallet’s address and the amount received are revealed on the block explorer.
According to Greenberg, Monero’s privacy features make it “far far harder” to trace than Bitcoin has ever been. Compared to Bitcoin, XMR tangles up transactions and hides the amount involved making it difficult for law enforcement or anyone to track the payments of the asset.
So what about privacy coins like Monero? 🛅
In his reporting on Chainalysis and others, WIRED’s @a_greenberg found that $XMR is traceable too.
📢 Listen: https://t.co/ZexlWUL3aE pic.twitter.com/bedUvpC2Lr
— Laura Shin (@laurashin) February 28, 2023
The Traceability of Monero Transactions
While XMR won the debate of most non-traceable transactions, Greenberg in another interview with Paul Ducklin indicates that does not mean the assets’ transaction is not traceable at all. According to Greenberg citing a leaked Chainalysis document, Monero transactions can be traced in 60% of cases to get a usable lead. T
his revelation has questioned the common belief of Monero being an entirely non-traceable asset. The leaked Chainalysis document which tells Italian law enforcement they can trace XMR transactions in the majority of cases, suggests that while Monero transactions are indeed difficult to trace, it is definitely not impossible.
Notably, Monero’s privacy features have made it not only famous in the crypto community but also among individuals and groups involved in illicit activities. With reports now having it that the assets transactions may not be that impossible to trace, the act of using cryptocurrency for illegal purposes may just be another shaky alternative.
It may seem that this golden age of cryptocurrency tracing is coming to an end and that people are wising up but I think it’s maybe just accurate just to see it as another phase, another step in this cat-and-mouse [crypto tracing] game,
said Greenberg. Despite XMR’s significant surge since the beginning of the year after the ubiquitous bearish trend last year, XMR is still down 71% from its all-time high of $542 seen 5 years ago on January 9, 2018. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, the Monero token also known as XMR has been in a bullish trend up by 1.1% along with the rest of the crypto market.
At the time of writing, Monero currently trades at $152 after falling from a high of $186 on January 29. XMR’s price is moving sideways on the 4-hour chart.
