wmp_h2_btc_prob
wmp_h3_btc_visible
- Sender address
- Recipient address
- Transaction amount
- Full transaction history of every coin
- Wallet balances
wmp_h3_xmr_visible
- Nothing — transaction happened
- No sender identity
- No recipient identity
- No amount
- No wallet balance
How Monero Hides Transactions
1. Ring Signatures — Hiding the Sender
How it works
When you send XMR, your transaction is mixed with 15 other outputs (decoys). An observer sees 16 possible senders but cannot determine which one actually sent. Even with blockchain analysis, the probability of identifying the real sender is 1/16 per hop — and each subsequent transaction compounds the uncertainty.
2. Stealth Addresses — Hiding the Recipient
How it works
Your public XMR address never appears on the blockchain. Every payment you receive goes to a unique one-time address. Only you (with your private key) can identify and spend it. Nobody can scan the blockchain and find your balance.
3. RingCT and Bulletproofs — Hiding the Amount
How it works
RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions) uses cryptographic commitments to prove a transaction is valid without revealing the amount. Bulletproofs are a compression technique that makes these proofs 80% smaller — keeping Monero transaction fees low.
Full Feature Comparison: XMR vs BTC
| Feature | Bitcoin (BTC) | Monero (XMR) |
|---|---|---|
| Sender hidden | No | Yes |
| Recipient hidden | No | Yes |
| Amount hidden | No | Yes |
| Privacy mandatory | No | Yes |
| Fungible | No | Yes |
Who Uses Monero and Why
Businesses and freelancers
Paying for services without revealing cash flow to competitors. Receiving client payments privately.
Individuals protecting personal finances
Not wanting employers, family members, or governments to see how you spend your money.
Bitcoin was designed as a decentralized payment system, not a private one. The Bitcoin whitepaper explicitly describes a public blockchain where every transaction is visible to everyone. This transparency was a feature — it allows anyone to verify that the rules are being followed without trusting a central authority. But it comes at a cost: every transaction you ever make is permanently recorded and publicly visible to anyone with an internet connection.
wmp_h3_btc_visible
- Sender address — permanently on-chain
- Recipient address — permanently on-chain
- Transaction amount — visible to everyone
- Full transaction history of every coin
- Wallet balance — inferrable from UTXO set
wmp_h3_xmr_visible
- That a transaction occurred — nothing more
- No sender identity — hidden by ring signatures
- No recipient identity — hidden by stealth addresses
- No transaction amount — hidden by RingCT
- No wallet balance — inferrable by nobody
How Monero Hides Transactions
Monero's privacy is not a single feature bolted onto a transparent system. It is a stack of three independent cryptographic protocols, each addressing a different dimension of financial privacy, all mandatory and applied automatically to every single transaction.
Individuals protecting personal finances
Not wanting employers, family members, or governments to see how you spend your money.
Businesses and freelancers
Paying for services without revealing cash flow to competitors. Receiving client payments privately.