Why is Monero so unpopular?

[devil-soul]

Monero is an excellent altcoin that prefers privacy but is not well regarded because it is mistakenly thought that it is associated with illegal activities such as trading currency on the dark web, instead it is used by all those for whom privacy has a high value and they consider it a fundamental principle

[Abiky]

Not all investors will value the term privacy when dealing with crypto as the purpose of creating monero is to promote anonymity, investors still go for coins with higher profit and zero privacy as seen in most cases, Monero is also preferable by most people who value their privacy. I think the choice depends on every investor and this is not just a forceful opinion to hold Monero but rather it has to do choice, I still think the reason why most people don't value Monero is due to the private nature.

Of course. Investors wouldn't want to buy something that isn't regulatory-compliant. They want something that's seen with good eyes by the government to ensure their investment lasts a long time. I'd say governments have successfully destroyed privacy coins' reputation by labeling them as tools used for criminal activities (money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing). The public is now skeptical of getting into something that's used by wrongdoers. We all know that's not really the case, especially when Fiat is still the #1 tool for criminals (due to its ease of use and greater accessibility). But the harm is already done, with Monero and similar coins losing popularity each day.

It's likely all CEXs will cease trading of privacy coins (XMR included) in the future. Fortunately, people can use alternative methods to continue buying/selling privacy coins. You can thank their decentralized and censorship-resistant design for that. Considering that Monero is the biggest and most successful privacy coin in the world, I'm certain it will survive for generations. No matter the price of XMR, we should be thankful for having a means to achieve privacy and financial freedom. Who needs "Wall Street", anyways?

[jwinterm]

This should be coming to mainnet within the next few months I believe:
https://serai.exchange/

Serai is a new DEX, built from the ground up, initially planning on listing Bitcoin, Ethereum, DAI, and Monero, offering a liquidity-pool-based trading experience. Funds are stored in an economically secured threshold-multisig wallet.

Also, haveno is supposed to finally go live in a week or so I think:
https://haveno.exchange/

Haveno will be a non-custodial, decentralized exchange for crypto and fiat currencies built on Tor and Monero.

It's a fork of bisq that uses XMR as the base pair.

[Sophokles]

Monero is an excellent altcoin that prefers privacy but is not well regarded because it is mistakenly thought that it is associated with illegal activities such as trading currency on the dark web, instead it is used by all those for whom privacy has a high value and they consider it a fundamental principle

That is not a mistake about monero. Hackers use it to collect ransome from their victime because of its privacy. Monero has a large community and there are a lot of users that using monero. The only reason i am seeing monero is not used by whales is due to its regulatory uncertainty. We don't know yet how the government is going to regulate monero and there are even rumors that they are going to ban it.

[noqqx265]

Privacy coins like Monero are easy to be used for money laundering, and there are indeed regulatory risks, which may have performed well in the previous bull runs, but for the current cryptocurrency market, compliance comes first.

[Abiky]

Privacy coins like Monero are easy to be used for money laundering, and there are indeed regulatory risks, which may have performed well in the previous bull runs, but for the current cryptocurrency market, compliance comes first.

With constant exchange de-listings and volatile market prices, I doubt criminals would want to use XMR for money laundering and tax evasion. They're better off with traditional Fiat. If there's something we could blame for Monero's unpopularity, that would be the government. It has spread false propaganda, making people believe Monero is only the "criminal's coin". They're afraid of getting into it because governments will eventually tag them as a criminal. Or it would render suspicions when using it for day-to-day payments.

Now I've read there will be KYC-compliant privacy protocols and DEXs. That would totally defeat the purpose of privacy/anonymity. Wasn't it always about protecting ourselves against government surveillance? Businesses won't have any issues with KYC-compliant privacy, other than individuals themselves. At least, those who actually care about their privacy. ETH privacy protocol dubbed "Privacy Pools" is one of those KYC-compliant privacy solutions. The question is: Will Monero be able to withstand strong regulatory pressure? Or will it eventually "please" the regulators? It's an uncertain world we've living into, so expect the worst.

[Hermes Mercury]

Money laundering can happen anywhere and in any situation using any cryptocurrency. The witch hunt over XMR stems from something else entirely; it has nothing to do with money laundering. Why has ZEC become popular? Or are you going to say that ZEC doesn't facilitate money laundering?

[henry_of_skalitz]

Money laundering can happen anywhere and in any situation using any cryptocurrency. The witch hunt over XMR stems from something else entirely; it has nothing to do with money laundering. Why has ZEC become popular? Or are you going to say that ZEC doesn't facilitate money laundering?

I don't think you will get an answer - simply because this thread was done in 2024

But I agree, these allegations were done to basically many coins just because they could be done..

[Mandoy]

Money laundering can happen anywhere and in any situation using any cryptocurrency. The witch hunt over XMR stems from something else entirely; it has nothing to do with money laundering. Why has ZEC become popular? Or are you going to say that ZEC doesn't facilitate money laundering?

The fact that monero is not popular does not necessarily relate to money laundering but rather to the response of regulators and exchanges to high levels of privacy. Any crypto is liable to abuse, as is cash, and thus it is more of a perception than a reality that XMR is being targeted. Coins such as ZEC are privacy-oriented, however, they became more acceptable since their privacy is not mandatory, something that makes regulators feel better. The default privacy is the advantage of Monero, and it restricts the listing, liquidity, and mainstream adoption. Ultimately, its lack of popularity is motivated not by the purpose of its use but by the external pressure.

[Abiky]

The fact that monero is not popular does not necessarily relate to money laundering but rather to the response of regulators and exchanges to high levels of privacy. Any crypto is liable to abuse, as is cash, and thus it is more of a perception than a reality that XMR is being targeted. Coins such as ZEC are privacy-oriented, however, they became more acceptable since their privacy is not mandatory, something that makes regulators feel better. The default privacy is the advantage of Monero, and it restricts the listing, liquidity, and mainstream adoption. Ultimately, its lack of popularity is motivated not by the purpose of its use but by the external pressure.

I believe ZEC's upsurge in price has been driven by hype. The coin was long lost and forgotten for a while, only to gain attention from investors recently (after a few influential people talked about it). The decentralized swaps feature, also had a positive impact over its price. As for ZEC not having "mandatory privacy", I think that has changed after shielded transactions were made the norm in one of the recent network upgrades. For what I know, ZEC no longer supports "t" addresses. Currently, ZEC sits at the #12 spot in market cap. Meanwhile, Monero is being left behind in the dust as exchanges continue to de-list it.

Between XMR and ZEC, the former is much more decentralized and censorship-resistant. I'd prefer Monero than Zcash for this simple fact alone. However, ZEC does have the same limited supply as BTC (and deflationary model), making it an attractive investment for anyone who wants to make money in the long-term. To my understanding, XMR is inflationary by design. Each coin has its own pros and cons. While a privacy coin such as ZEC had a good run, I wouldn't expect the craze to last forever. Not as long as governments continue to oppose anything that's privacy-oriented. Monero being unpopular is the least thing to worry about. As long as the network is alive and running, nothing else matters.