monero-project/monero

Monero is a cryptocurrency, which means it is a form of digital money that exists on a decentralized network of computers rather than being controlled by any single bank or government. What sets Monero apart from better-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is its focus on privacy. On most public blockchains, every transaction is recorded permanently and visibly, so anyone can trace the history of funds flowing between addresses. Monero is designed to prevent that by default, using a set of cryptographic techniques that hide sender identities, recipient addresses, and transaction amounts from outside observers. The three core properties the project emphasizes are privacy, security, and untraceability. Privacy is achieved through a system that obscures transaction details on the shared ledger. Security comes from the distributed network itself: there is no central server to attack, and each user controls their own funds through a wallet protected by a 25-word recovery phrase. Untraceability uses something called ring signatures, a cryptographic method that blends a transaction with others so that outside observers cannot determine which participant actually sent a payment. The network is also designed so that ordinary consumer hardware can participate, which discourages the kind of specialized mining equipment that can concentrate power in a small number of hands. This repository is the core software implementation of Monero, written in C++. It includes everything needed to run a full node (a computer that validates and stores the complete transaction history), a command-line wallet for sending and receiving funds, and tools for mining. Building from source requires compiling a large set of dependencies, and the README provides detailed instructions for Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and several other platforms. The project also supports reproducible builds through a tool called Guix for users who want to verify the compiled software matches the source code exactly. The project follows a scheduled upgrade cycle where the network software is updated on a regular basis, and node operators must update their software to stay compatible. Announcements about these upgrades go out through a mailing list. Developers building applications that use Monero are strongly encouraged to join the project's IRC channel to stay current with protocol changes. The full README is longer than what was shown.