Monero’s privacy is essential
Monero is a digital currency similar to Bitcoin with the main difference that your activity is always kept confidential.
Users store their funds via a software application called a wallet. Each wallet comes with its own receiving address, and you will have to tell people this address so that they can send you funds.
When people send you funds, you will not be able to tell who sent it to you, unless you really want to know. When you send funds to someone, the recipient will not know your identity, unless you tell it to them. The fact that the movement of funds are kept private leads to a result in which no one can tell how rich anyone else is.
This is profoundly different from Bitcoin where users’ wealth and the people who they dealt with are public. Monero’s privacy is essential in order to prevent others from knowing details regarding your wealth and to also prevent others from spying how you’re spending your money. This also keeps business transactions confidential from competitors.
Monero is untraceable, and you will not have to worry that the funds you are receiving are “tainted” by suspicious activities from previous owners.
Lack of a central point of authority
Monero doesn’t have a central point of authority. This means that when you send funds to someone, a worldwide network of computers will agree among themselves that ownership of the funds managed to pass from one anonymous owner to another. As a result, Monero cannot be shut down by any authority or country.
The network of computers that verify and agree that the transactions have taken place are called miners – they are rewarded with a small amount of funds in exchange for the work that they are performing. The shared global record of transactions is called the blockchain.
Getting started with Monero
In order to get started with Monero, all you need is to download a Monero wallet. After that, buy some Monero using fiat currencies, and the funds will appear in your Monero wallet. You will be able to send funds to another person who has a Monero wallet.