Its nice to find at least one thread which is not polluted by trolls, complainers and FUDers. Everything seems to go well with my favourite coin

There is no official Monero-specific forum. Further, we really enjoy being out with the broader community (bitcointalk, reddit, twitter, IRC, etc.).

When the new web presence is ready there will be more ways to communicate that are Monero-specific but we will always want to remain engaged with the "outside world" and take care not to retreat to a comfortable echo chamber where only yes men need apply.

Monero will definitely support mutlisig.

Whirlwind missives (Updated 09/12)!


Jun 2nd 2014

1.   New Logo + branding pack
2.   Repository redesign
3.   Begin website enhancements
4.   live discussions join us on Freenode: #monero for general chat, #monero-dev
5.   MRO changes to XMR to satisfy ISO 4217

Dev diary

1.   Added missing RPC methods
2.   0.8.8 changes to prevent dust attack on block reward
3.   Begun work on documenting the code and providing architecture overviews
4.   Understanding and examining the cryptonote protocols
5.   POW hashing optimisation to improve syncing times and pool verify times
6.   Lucasjones miner optimisation work


Jun 10th

1.   New feature announced deterministic wallets based on mnemonic seed
2.   XMR listed for voting on Mintpal
3.   RPC based Qt GUI wallet

Dev diary

1.   Further RPC work on simplewallet
2.   Added new seed notes
3.   Further code review and implement Doxygen for commenting and code understanding


Jun 18th

1.   Hit number one on mintpal voting list
2.   Begin peer review cryptonote whitepaper
3.   Initial work done on transaction splitting
4.   GUI wallet a lot of work to be done yet and Monero core issues to be resolved first

Dev diary

1.   TX pool handling fix to address high number of orphans
2.   Auto split is now ready for test


June 27th

1.   XMR added to 2 exchanges BTER and Mintpal
2.   White paper review continues http://monero.cc/downloads/whitepaper_annotated.pdf
3.   Bug fix restoring a deterministic wallet and old transactions
4.   Stabilising Monero, pools, merchants and exchanges
5.   Auto splitting ready for release

Dev diary

1.   Slow_hash huge changes to add AES-NI
2.   Major daemon overhaul in progress; windows support to follow
3.   Simple wallet split to Simplewallet (CLI) and RPCwallet (standalone RPC daemon)


July 6th

1.   CryptoNote peer review continues
2.   Auto splitting is now in the main code base

Dev diary

1.   RPC wallet ready for test


July 13th

1.   GUI’s received and bounties paid. Won’t be directly integrated yet
2.   CryptoNote white paper review is coming to close
3.   Begun work to re-implement the mnemonic word list in other languages

Dev diary

1.   Core major work begin to Implement an embedded database
2.   I2P focus moves from libi2pcpp to i2pd. Focus on persistent connections


July 20th

1.   Begun reviewing the implementation of CryptoNote following the white paper review
2.   Embedded database work in progress the hope is to reduce ram requirements
3.   Information security specialist joins the team
4.   German word list complete now moving onto Portuguese

Dev diary

1.   Abstraction of the blockchain storage functions completing (enabler for performance testing)
2.   Daemonising Monero work is largely completed
3.   RPC wallet can now run multiple instances (where machines need to run multiple wallets)
4.   DNS seed nodes work begun that will later replace hardcoded seed nodes
5.   Exchange’s poll get_payments fix for multiple payment IDs is testing


July 23rd

1.   Monero trading pairs added to Poloniex
2.   BSD 3-clause license changes
3.   README build instructions improved
4.   Developer training for Git usage

Dev diary

1.   RPC enhancements a new Get_info
2.   get_bulk_payments developed and ready


August 3rd

1.   Launched fireside chats
2.   Begun tracking downloads 41,425 in the first 3 recorded weeks from 15/06
3.   XMR pairs rise to 5830 XMR of volume after first 12 days
4.   Monero added to coinSource Trust Index with a score of  6 out of 7 stars
5.   Build process streamlined

Dev diary

1.   Windows build script to simplify windows builds
2.   QOS developed and ready, peripherals to be completed
3.   Embedded database is proving complex, work continues
4.   Issues resolved from logs, blockheight parameter and query_key
5.   DNS seeder code available for review


August 10th

1.   First look at the gui in the first fireside chat was positively received
2.   Monero price ticker released
3.   Test environment secured and ready for continuous integration process

Dev diary

1.   Abstracted BlockchainDB functions coming together
2.   CMakelist overhauled
3.   Unit test review/creation has begun
4.   Planning migration to new servers for blockchain and client download


August 16th

1.   GUI test release available
2.   Monero broke 600 subscribers to our sub-reddit
3.   Open source Monero stratum proxy released
4.   Finalising QoS bandwith control

Dev diary

1.   Mingw64 msys2 largely complete
2.   Wallet code under refactoring
3.   Abstraction and refactoring Blockchain functions ready for some performance testing
4.   QoS ready awaiting testing and then release


September 15th

1.The Monero Research Lab is an open collective academic group continuing to make papers towards the analysis and improvement of the underlying core
2. Second #Monero-Dev Fireside (Fri September 19th, 2014, at 10:00 EST)
3. Merchandise available http://www.zazzle.com/monerogear* coin team gets 15% commission
4. URS released, a Monero project written in Go that allows you to sign messages using ring signatures as part of a group
5. New tagged release, 0.8.8.4, now available for download
6. GUI work delayed due to addressing some core issues following recent events. Progress continuing
7. Monero added to Coin Swap https://coin-swap.net/market/XMR/BTC

Dev diary

1. Development branch on hold, will be brought back into sync following emergency measures implemented
2. FreeBSD Compatability: Monero now works on FreeBSD out the box
3. New Makefile target, release-static, that builds statically linked binaries for redistribution.
4. Wallet: per-kb fees are nearly complete, and will be deployed to testnet within the next week or so
5. Blockchain: Work delayed by  blockchain attacks. Getting back on track with DB work
6. Core: Devs note, all non-critical "errors" and warnings have been moved to log-level 1


October 6th

1. New official Monero forum. Come find us! @ https://forum.monero.cc
2. Working hard in the background on the codebase
3. Mnemonics system overhauled and added new word lists in Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish
4. MoneroPulse added; a loosely distributed checkpoint alert system
5. Backup distribution system in place for recovery
6. Research Lab released Research Bulletin, MRL-0003 – around ring signatures
7. Monero now at number 2 on Cryptsy voting list

Dev Diary

1. File check pointing added;  checkpoints are always enforced regular checking
2. DNS check pointing added
3. Working hard on improving the build system so builds are easier and less problematic
4. PoW algorithm annotated in the code and documented by dga


October 13th

1. Back-porting features and fixes added to the current codebase.
2. The GUI is progressing We hope to update the preview binaries in the next week or two
3. per-kb fees in testing. we expect positive testing results
5. Further tweaks to mnemonic system

Dev Diary

1. Further work on build environment ultimately to reduce build issues further down the line
2. Core: documentation continues, with Doxygen comments
3. DNS check pointing and configuration in test
4. mnemonic lists now support a variable trim length


October 20th

1. Focussing on some of the core issues that have been lagging
2. Blockchain database implementation. Lightning Memory-Mapped Database, LMDB ready for limited testing by next week.
3. Additional implementations will be built to compare performance
4. Implementing DNSSEC trust anchors with the assistance of NLnet Labs. it prepares us for more widespread, secure use of the OpenAlias standard
5. Reworking build environment to conform to Kitware recommendations, especially due to poorly implemented CMake in original reference code

Dev Diary

1. Per-kb fee testing is going well on testnet
2. Downloadable RAW blockchain for import your daemon will fully verify the downloaded blockchain
3. Unit tests have been fixed, change is expected to be merged in the next week.
4. Core tests are currently being worked on to bring them up to a 100% working state for regression testing


October 27th

1. Initial database implementation very nearly ready for broader testing
2. Per-kb fees functionality  added to simplewallet, hope to deploy that for general testing within the week
3. Build system is starting to come together in its final form

Dev Diary

1. CMake is looking a lot cleaner and easier to grok. It also fixes cross-compile
2. Offloaded MoneroPulse checkpoint checks to a separate thread to reduce locking and looking to do this elsewhere in the core now
3. Account: multilang wordlists are now inherent to the wallet/account. we have opted to use RapidJSON instead of eppe's JSON


November 2nd

1. LMDB's is syncing! if you would like to give it a spin you can
2. Per-kb fees are ready to go
3. New CMake there are a few final nigglies on Windows and FreeBSD

Dev diary

1. LMDB implementation is complete, and is undergoing testing for drastic rollbacks and edge cases
2. Switchover to the new fee structure is hoped to happen next week


November 17th

1. On-going Windows static build issues are preventing us from tagging and releasing Monero 0.8.8.5
2. Note: the only trustworthy, official binaries are those release by the core team
3. Monero Research Lab had a meet-up in Salt Lake City for some debate sessions
4. Bolckchain DB testing all looking good

Dev Diary

1. CMake lingering issues exist with static mingw-w64 builds
2. Several bug fixes to the multi-language mnemonic system


November 24th

1. My Monero announced, the first Monero hosted account service. A web wallet for Monero go to https://mymonero.com
2. Significant progress has been made to fixing the last few Windows build issues

Dev Diary

1. Msys2 now successfully compiles. final testing of new builds will happen this week
2. Expect a mass merge of PRs previously waiting this week. Now CMake changes will have to comply with the new, cleaner CMake.


December 8th

1. Monero 0.8.8.6 released - Lots of the recent fixes and changes are bundled in. Remeber to only download from a trusted source
2. Smart mining introduced - Should help all users support the network. Work needed yet on detail and to support more platforms

External (new added section for external projects and services under development)

1. MyMonero - currently fixing some bugs around displaying on different devices and data manipulation
2. A new implementation project for the i2p protocol in C++. Monero will use this later for its connection to the i2p network

Dev Diary

1. Build: tests are now disabled when building the build-release, build-debug, or release-static targets.
2. Account: lots of fixes to multi-lang mnemonics, although UTF-8 on Windows still seems to be a bit shaky.


Another whirlwind session draws to a close on this cold winters day.  


Globb0

Last Updated: 09/12

Nice overview! You can also buy monero on hitbtc.com by the way. We should get monero added to btc38, one of the biggest chinese exchanges which trades altcoins.

Looking forward to Monero's future. 

Thanks for your input.  Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I would have considered 3% (or even 10% or 20%) to be small compared to the 100% that was originally suggested as being necessary, and I was comparing the current usage of Bitcoin to the current usage of any other privacy coin.  I realize those figures may change substantially, which may change my risk assessment.  I was aware of the 3% figure, which you've mentioned previously, and it's impressive given Monero's youth, but still quite small.

I'm interested in the long-term future of Monero, and as a Monero holder I'm trying to assess risks, such as a future improved privacy offering for Bitcoin users.  If you have any comments about CoinShuffle, CoinSwap, or what you consider to be the best privacy proposals that use the current Bitcoin protocol, I'd love to hear them.

I would recommend you read this discussion about the anonymity alternatives from the perspective of cryptographers:
https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/29471/is-there-any-true-anonymous-cryptocurrencies

TL;DR: Ring signatures (i.e. Cryptonote) have a clear advantage and hence Monero is a great hedge against Bitcoin proposed anonymization efforts.

CryptoNote vs Bitcoin-based solutions

An abstract approach

You can put all outputs in any blockchain-based coin in a DAG where outputs are objects and transactions are arrows. If the transaction involves multiple inputs and multiple outputs, then add an arrow from any input to any output (call this a clique). In any such clique you mix the inputs, which is a good thing. The problem with Bitcoin is that the size of the cliques is severely limited: normally, you only have multiple inputs with a common source and most transactions have only two outputs, one of which is a change address. This allows you to aggregate addresses under the same ownership and this ripples both backwards and forwards (the latter is more troubling since it is the antipode of forward secrecy).

CoinJoin-like solutions attempt both to directly increase the size of the cliques and to address the first part of the problem (common inputs share ownership). Stealth addresses attempt to solve the second problem (everyone sees where the money goes). You can see how instead of saying that CryptoNote is "simply" better than those, it is more accurate to say that those solutions are actually approximate partial fragments of CryptoNote. In other words, any hypothetical Bitcoin privacy solution would necessarily have both a CoinJoin-like AND a stealth address-like mechanism to be viable. Due to technical limitations in the Bitcoin protocol (that would require a hard, hard fork to implement), all CoinJoin-like solutions are complicated Rube Goldberg machines because you can only mix with inputs in your same clique and that is and can never be enough (*) and all stealth address-like mechanisms require extra back-and-forth to perform the DH exchange. CryptoNote does those two things naturally; indeed, one could argue that the main ways in which CryptoNote is not Bitcoin are precisely changes specially-made for these two purposes (plus different PoW and other "variables").

Now you ask, "OK I understand CryptoNote is the shizzle and Bitcoin-based solutions are the groupies, but I think Bitcoin's network effects, prime mover advantage and a decent privacy implementation would make alts an academic exercise." To which the answer only really depends on whether you think any alt can overtake Bitcoin at all and has not much to do with privacy. People have very strong beliefs about this question generally. My answer (and that of many if not most here) is that it is entirely possible, but not necessarily probable, since they cater different markets (light vs dark liquidity) and thus we move to a different question.

If you really care about privacy then you understand that approximate privacy is no privacy. Monero's attack surface is flat compared to a hypothetical Bitcoin solution's fractal closure. Whoever sees this will use Monero instead of the Bitcoin-solution for privacy even if the userbase for Monero is much smaller. (*) This is because CryptoNote allows mixes with the past outputs. This means you do not need other participants (which is a seriously heavy rock that all CoinJoin approaches have to carry arround). On the longer term, this means you can mix even if there are only two people left using the network; even if the last transaction was last year; and so on, even if everyone stopped using Monero after this block you could still mix ten years later.

Finally, give me a function that decides in poly-time the question "Is output X the true source of the money that reached output Y?" in a CryptoNote DAG where all ring signatures have size at least 24 and I can probably decide 3-SAT in poly-time. The constant in the reduction could go to 12 since I'm pretty sloppy with map/fold. This means deterministic linkability is NP-hard and this is a very powerful result -- if the protocol is not misused, plausible deniability will never be compromised. If anyone's interested in pursuing this thread, the next question I have in mind is "What happens if we relax 'decides' to 'PAC-decides'?" A discussion of taint could come in handy here.

May sound repetitious, but I really feel that Monero is the Bitcoin of 2010.