Monero Price

What Is Monero?

Monero (XMR) is a cryptocurrency built so that payments are private by default. On Bitcoin, anyone can look up an address and see its balance and every payment it has made. On Monero, the sender, the receiver and the amount are hidden from outside observers, and users don't have to switch anything on to get that protection.

Monero launched on April 18, 2014, as a fork (a copy of the code that then goes its own way) of an earlier coin called Bytecoin. Its first developer posted under the name "thankful_for_today" and stepped away within weeks. Since then, a volunteer community has maintained the open-source code on GitHub. There's no company, foundation token or presale behind it, and development is funded through community donations.

The project's stated goal is digital cash that works like paper money: one coin can't be told apart from another, so no coin carries a history that could get it refused.

How Monero Works

Monero uses proof of work, the same basic system Bitcoin uses, where miners spend computing power to add new blocks and earn new coins. Its mining algorithm, RandomX, is designed to run best on ordinary computer processors rather than specialized mining machines, so more people can mine from home. A new block arrives about every two minutes.

Three privacy tools work together on every transaction:

• Ring signatures mix the real sender's coins with 15 decoy outputs pulled from the blockchain, so an observer can't tell which one was spent.
• Stealth addresses create a new one-time address for each payment, so a public address never shows up on the chain.
• RingCT (ring confidential transactions) hides the amount sent.

Users can share a "view key" that lets an auditor or tax preparer see their incoming payments without being able to spend them.

Monero has no hard cap. After the main emission curve ended in mid-2022, the network switched to a permanent tail emission of 0.6 XMR per block. The project says this keeps miners paid to secure the network. Supply growth falls a little each year as a share of the total.

What People Use It For

Monero's main use is private payments. People use it to pay for goods and services without exposing their full balance and history to the person they pay, which is the main complaint privacy advocates have about Bitcoin. A number of online merchants, VPN providers and donation pages accept XMR for that reason.

People also hold it as a long-term savings asset, mine it on home computers, and use it to move value across borders without a bank.

Monero also has documented use in illegal markets. Darknet marketplaces and ransomware groups have accepted it, and law enforcement agencies have said its privacy makes tracing harder. That record is the main reason regulators and exchanges treat Monero differently from most other coins.

Risks To Know

Exchange delistings. Most major exchanges no longer offer Monero. Coinbase and Gemini never listed it. Binance delisted XMR in February 2024, and OKX dropped it too.

Kraken still lists it for US customers, but availability in other regions varies, so check before you sign up. As of Nov 1, 2026, Kraken is the only major US exchange in our data that sells it.

The reason is compliance. Exchanges must follow anti-money-laundering (AML) rules and the FATF "Travel Rule," which requires them to pass along who is sending and receiving funds. Monero's design makes those checks hard to run. The EU's anti-money-laundering regulation bars crypto service providers from handling privacy-focused coins starting in July 2027.

Mining attack. In August 2025, the Qubic mining pool claimed control of a majority of Monero's hash rate and reorganized six recent blocks, a version of a 51% attack, according to Halborn's analysis.

Fewer ways to sell. Fewer listings mean fewer places to cash out if more exchanges drop it.

How To Buy Monero

Monero is hard to buy in the US. Kraken is the only major US exchange in our data that lists XMR. Outside the US, MEXC offers it. Some people also buy it through peer-to-peer platforms or swap services that trade one coin for another, but those carry more risk of scams and frozen funds.

Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood and most US brokerage apps don't offer Monero, and there's no Monero ETF. Kraken requires full identity verification, the same as any other purchase there. Coins left on an exchange don't get the network's privacy benefits, so buyers who want privacy withdraw XMR to a Monero wallet they control.

Monero And Your Taxes

In the US, Monero is taxed like any other cryptocurrency. Selling, swapping or spending XMR is a taxable event, and you owe capital gains tax on any increase in value. Coins earned from mining count as ordinary income at their market value on the day you receive them.

Monero's privacy doesn't change what you owe. You still have to report every sale, and you'll need your own records because the blockchain won't show them. A view key can help you document incoming payments. Here's how crypto taxes work.

FAQ

Is Monero A Good Investment?

Nobody can promise where Monero's price goes, but there are factors to weigh. It has one of the longest track records in crypto and a clear privacy use. Its biggest problem is access: few exchanges list it, more could drop it, and EU rules will block service providers from handling it starting in 2027.

That makes it harder to buy and sell than most top coins. Only put in money you can afford to lose.

Why Did Exchanges Delist Monero?

Exchanges have to follow anti-money-laundering rules that require them to know who is sending and receiving funds. Monero hides senders, receivers and amounts by default, so exchanges can't run those checks the way they can with Bitcoin. Binance, OKX and others removed it in 2024 rather than face regulatory pressure. Kraken still lists it in the US.

Is Monero Legal In The US?

Yes. Owning, mining and using Monero is legal in the US as of Nov 1, 2026. No federal law bans privacy coins.

The limits come from exchanges, which choose not to list it because of compliance costs. You still have to report Monero gains and income on your taxes. Some other countries, including Japan and South Korea, have pushed exchanges to stop offering privacy coins.

What Is Monero's Max Supply?

Monero has no maximum supply. The main emission ended in 2022, and since then the network has created 0.6 XMR with every block, roughly every two minutes, with no end date. The project says this tail emission pays miners to keep securing the network. Because the amount per block stays fixed while the total supply grows, the yearly inflation rate keeps falling over time.

Can I Buy Monero In An IRA?

There's no Monero ETF in the US, so you can't buy it through a regular brokerage IRA. Some self-directed crypto IRA providers support a limited list of coins, but most don't offer Monero because of the same compliance concerns that led exchanges to drop it. Check with any provider before opening an account. Here's more on crypto in retirement accounts.

Where Can I Buy Monero In The US?

Kraken is the only major US exchange that sells Monero as of Nov 1, 2026. Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood and Binance.US don't list it. Peer-to-peer platforms and swap services are other options, but they offer fewer protections against fraud. After buying, many users move XMR to a Monero wallet they control, since coins left on an exchange don't get the network's privacy features.