Check yourself: Monero-class privacy

Questions and answers, readable without JavaScript.

1. In Monero, which mechanism hides transaction amounts while still letting the network check that no coins were created?

   • RingCT
   • Stealth addresses
   • Ring signatures
   • View keys
   Answer 1

   RingCT

   RingCT hides amounts while still letting nodes verify inputs and outputs balance. It became mandatory network-wide after September 2017.

   Read the note → · What Transparent Ledgers Leak — and Why On-Chain Privacy Matters

2. What does a stealth address protect?

   • The sender's identity
   • The transaction fee
   • The link between a published address and each payment it receives
   • The amount sent
   Answer 2

   The link between a published address and each payment it receives

   For each payment the sender derives a one-time destination, so outsiders don't see a reusable address tying every incoming payment together.

   Read the note → · What Transparent Ledgers Leak — and Why On-Chain Privacy Matters

3. How many members does every Monero ring have today?

   • 11
   • Whatever the wallet chooses
   • Every output on the chain
   • 16: the real output plus 15 decoys
   Answer 3

   16: the real output plus 15 decoys

   Since the August 2022 upgrade, every input carries a ring of exactly 16. A fixed size stops people fingerprinting themselves with an unusual number.

   Read the note → · An Anonymity Set Is Not a Ring Size

4. Why is an anonymity set not the same as ring size?

   • They are the same thing
   • The anonymity set is the group an observer can't tell apart, so statistically distinguishable decoys protect less than 16
   • Ring size is always larger
   • Anonymity sets only apply to Zcash
   Answer 4

   The anonymity set is the group an observer can't tell apart, so statistically distinguishable decoys protect less than 16

   An anonymity set is the candidates an observer cannot tell apart, not the count a transaction names. OSPEAD's preliminary estimate puts the default ring's effective size at about 4.2.

   Read the note → · An Anonymity Set Is Not a Ring Size

5. What can someone do with your private view key alone?

   • See every incoming transaction to that account
   • Spend your funds
   • Read the whole network's history
   • Change your seed
   Answer 5

   See every incoming transaction to that account

   A private view key reveals incoming transactions for that account. It gives no spend authority and the rest of the chain stays opaque.

   Read the note → · A View Key Is Not a Transparent Chain

6. Why shouldn't you rely on a balance shown by a view-only wallet?

   • View-only wallets round amounts
   • The balance is always zero
   • It shows other people's funds
   • Outgoing spends can't be reliably seen without importing key images from the spend-capable wallet
   Answer 6

   Outgoing spends can't be reliably seen without importing key images from the spend-capable wallet

   Spotting an output uses the view key, but knowing if it was spent needs key images. Without them a view-only balance can overstate.

   Read the note → · A View Key Is Not a Transparent Chain

7. What does FCMP++ change about sender privacy?

   • It raises ring size to 32
   • It removes key images
   • It proves the spent output is one of the outputs on the chain, not one of 16
   • It makes amounts public
   Answer 7

   It proves the spent output is one of the outputs on the chain, not one of 16

   FCMP++ replaces rings with a full-chain membership proof, moving the set from 16 toward 150 million+ outputs, while key images still stop double spends.

   Read the note → · From Rings of 16 to the Whole Chain: What FCMP++ Changes

8. Does Carrot, the addressing layer for FCMP++, force everyone to migrate to new addresses?

   • Yes, all old addresses become invalid
   • No, it keeps existing addresses, subaddresses and integrated addresses working
   • Only subaddresses stop working
   • Carrot is a separate coin
   Answer 8

   No, it keeps existing addresses, subaddresses and integrated addresses working

   Carrot defines how wallets use addresses on FCMP++ transactions and keeps backwards compatibility with existing CryptoNote addresses, so no key migration is required.

   Read the note → · From Rings of 16 to the Whole Chain: What FCMP++ Changes