Monero Confirms Bug in Decoy Algorithm Compromising Transaction Privacy

A “significant” bug has been spotted in the privacy-centric cryptocurrency monero (XMR). Monero developers have discovered a bug in the coin’s privacy algorithms that could potentially expose users’ actual transactions. XMR is open-source and privacy-oriented with worthless coins, dubbed “mixins” with the actual coins during a transaction. Unfortunately, the privacy advantage is now at risk.

According to a Twitter post, the bug occurs when a user spends their funds received in a transaction before roughly 20 minutes elapse.

Mitigating the Risk

Monero tried to assure users that the bug does not reveal addresses or transaction amounts in a tweetstorm covering the issue. They also noted that funds transferred are never at risk of being stolen. However, since the bug only affects funds sent within two blocks of receiving them, users should wait at least an hour to mitigate the risk of compromising their privacy. 

Monero is known as the most secure and anonymous way to send and store digital assets. However, it has also become the cryptocurrency of choice on dark web marketplaces as transactions on the network completely allow users to conceal their transactions. In addition, many ransomware players like REvil have also requested it. 

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In the third trimester of 2020, the Inland Revenue Service began offering a $625,000 bounty to anyone who can break Monero’s anonymity. However, the bounty remains unclaimed. 

XMR Price

Monero, the biggest privacy coin globally, was developed as a private and more efficient alternative to Bitcoin. XMR has dropped by 2 percent today; however, a bullish trend is expected if prices maintain the $156 support level.

Like all cryptocurrencies, Monero’s price crashed two months ago when there was distress on regulations, higher interest rates, and China crackdown intensified. As a result, the coin trickled 57 percent below its ATH. However, the coin rebounded last week because of the strong correlation among cryptos. The comeback occurred after the US real yields declined below 0%, and the popular online retailer Amazon expressed its interest in the coin. 

The Monero developers are up and running to establish a future wallet software update solution. A hard fork or full network upgrade was considered unnecessary for addressing the bug.

XMR Adoption

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XMR has been prospering in the crypto market because of its high focus on privacy. It is presently ranked 29th with a market cap of almost $4 billion, despite claims that it fuels criminal activities. In May, the coin’s popularity rose by 31 percent, and it was the eight-most used among merchants.