Hello everyone!!! I recently started to delve into the world of cryptocurrencies and I've come across the fact that I don't quite understand the difference between bitcoin and monero. It's clear that both of these coins are cryptocurrencies, but their features are somehow different. For example, bitcoin is often called “digital gold”, but everyone talks about monero as an anonymous cryptocurrency. Do I understand correctly that monero is much more anonymous than bitcoin? I'm not looking for any specific applications, just wondering why monero is chosen by those who value privacy. That said, bitcoin is much more well-known and widespread, so why then is monero considered “better” for those who want to hide their transactions? And maybe someone has experience with these cryptocurrencies in terms of security and possible problems?
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Good question, I'll try to explain as clearly as possible. According to https://tradebrains.in/feature...-bitcoin-and-monero/, the difference between bitcoin and monero are basically two different approaches to the concept of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, as you rightly pointed out, is considered digital gold. It is the first and most popular cryptocurrency, which was created in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin aims to be a universal medium of exchange and it is valued for its stability, security, and wide acceptance. Its core principle is decentralization, which means that no central institution or person controls the network. In the bitcoin blockchain, every transaction is publicly recorded, and this is actually one of the main differences from monero. That is, if you send bitcoin to someone, the transaction will be recorded on the blockchain, and with specialized tools you can see which address sent the bitcoin and which address received it. But here's the question: how anonymous is this? Actually, it's not really anonymous because all transactions are public. That is, even though bitcoin is not directly linked to personal data, these transactions can still be tracked. For example, if someone knows your bitcoin address, they will be able to see what other addresses you have received funds from, and how much. This can be useful for transparency, but on the other hand, it doesn't give complete privacy.
I think it's worth adding a word or two about the “practical” side of using these cryptocurrencies. For example, bitcoin is simply more convenient for mass use. It has support from most major exchanges and services, which makes it attractive to regular users. Monero is certainly cool in terms of anonymity, but due to its complexity and limited availability on exchanges, it's not so convenient for everyday transactions, unless of course your goal is to hide every last thing.