Of all of the questions we get here at CryptoDetail, some of the most interesting are about the Monero coin (a/k/a XMR).

For some reason, it seems that Monero is shrouded in some sort of mysterious cloud that makes people think there is some magical property to this coin. Well, there may just be a bit of magic to Monero.

Let's take a look

Of all of the gifts given to us by Satoshi's masterpiece in 2008; anonymity and personal security are two of the most sacred. The birth of the cryptosphere was supposed to shield us from the constantly prying eyes of the traditional fiat banks. Before cryptos it wasn't only your own bank looking at your personal information; it was all of them. Every one of those traditional fiat banks freely share names, social security numbers, relationships, financial statistics; well, the list goes on. The point is that whatever information you have ever given to a bank; they have shared with all of the others. Bitcoin was supposed to have shielded us from that nonsense.

And, in a way, it does. However, personal financial security can only be 100% confidential if we make it completely confidential for ourselves. Unfortunately, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and (most of) the other cryptocurrencies also employ complete transparency. With that transparency comes a bit of public exposure.

Well, Monero eliminates that exposure. Using XMR is completely anonymous (as long as you do not expose your pub key and tie it to your identity). So, with Monero, we have the total security envisioned by Satoshi. And, as Martha Stewart says "that's a good thing".

Anonymity and illegality

Before we get into talking about how you can get your own Monero, we want to take a minute to talk about the difference between anonymity and illegality. We need to make this clarification because many people outside of the cryptosphere are fond of asking "why do you need to be anonymous if you are not doing things that are illegal?".

Well, the answer is quite simple; OUR MONEY IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS. In point of fact, the ONLY obligation we as citizens of our various countries are bound to fulfill are those of honestly reporting our income and investment gains (and losses) for tax purposes. That obligation only goes so far as our personal reports to our respective governments (and even that is debatable). So, again, there is NO reason to share our financial lives with any person, bank or any other entity beyond that requirement.

Cryptos were specifically designed to eliminate that "oversharing". Monero eliminates that possibility altogether. With that said, let's see how you can ensure your own anonymity.

Two comments

Now that we understand what Monero is and why we should use it. Let's walk you through the process of getting some of your own.

It goes without saying that those big centralized (over-regulated) exchanges that we love (avoid) so much all offer Monero. However, as we do not use those sites (for the many reasons we have stated over and over in previous articles); we will just skip this explanation. If you are one of those people who just cannot help yourselves; we have only two comments about XMR purchases through those platforms.

1) If you buy Monero on Coinbase, Kraken or one of the big exchanges; you are only buying it to say you have it because once you make this purchase you are at that time known to have Monero. Which negates your anonymity.

2) DON'T DO THAT!!!

So, if you can't run to the big exchanges; how are you supposed to get XMR?

Simple

There are two sites that we tout regularly. Those are Changelly and ShapeShift; our two favorite exchanges. Both of these platforms allow you to use BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC or any number of other cryptos to purchase Monero (Changelly also allows purchase by credit or debit card. Again, DON'T DO THAT!!! If you do, you are giving up your anonymity).

It only takes a few simple steps on either of these platforms to make an instant (as quick as two blockchain transactions can be) exchange. So, take your Bitcoin to Changelly, or your Litecoin to ShapeShift and buy yourself some Monero today.

Think that will link your identity to that Monero wallet; thereby eliminating your anonymity? Not really. If you use your cryptos as daily (or regular /recurring) currency for making payments then your funds going into a Changelly or ShapeShift wallet is just another purchase. And, unless there is some reason for a federal court to subpoena those tx records (there won't be) no one can tell merely by viewing the blockchains that you have made this purchase.

So, within just a few minutes you have shielded your money in Monero completely. From there, simply HODL until you want to spend some, or all, of those funds. In that situation just reverse the process on Changelly or ShapeShift to get your new BTC, ETH, or whatever currency or token you want. The whole process is simple, painless, and (best of all) anonymous; which is the whole point of buying Monero from the outset.

Your own security

There are certainly other ways you can buy Monero. And, as always, we strongly recommend Changelly and ShapeShift for their security and speed of exchange. But, no matter which platform you choose for your own purchase; remember; the point here is to safeguard your own security through the unique anonymity of this coin. So, be sure that your choice of purchase platform fulfills that all important need.

One final note; as anonymous as Monero may be; always remember Crypto Rule # 1 and store these valuable cryptos safely.





As always, we here at CryptoDetail recommend a paper wallet for this HODL. So, since you are fulfilling Satoshi's vision of anonymity; be sure to also fulfill his vision of security with your own stack of XMR paper wallets as well.

Thanks for joining us on this exploration! Good luck with your own Monero adventure!! Happy HODLing!!!

Danny Donahue