I wrote an article on how to fix Open Bazaar and how to make a project like this economically sustainable. I welcome any feedback and help. http://z7735okcy6gggduobp6vjfcgwz4ss5eeduww7iw2agjmfgpjlnquezqd.onion/article/how_to_fix_openbazaar

Just wondered what strong features our core team plans to overpass competitors?

Monero General Fund transparency report - February 2025

[Cross-posted from Reddit]

Note that it is a preliminary post on reddit only. I will give it few days for any discussion to take place and see if anything needs further clarification. After that we can make a blog post on getmonero.org.

Current General Fund usage policy

I have expressed the general spending policy several years ago and it has not changed. See previous report: https://old.reddittorjg6rue252oqsxryoxengawnmo46qy4kyii5wtqnwfj4ooad.onion/r/Monero/comments/11fslu9/monero_general_fund_transparency_report_march_2023/

In short:

1. The GF is used to cover costs of basic infrastructure useful for the Monero project. (domain, hosting, CDN...).

2. It is used to cover part of some CCS proposals deemed "fundamental" to the project. When I donate to these CCS proposals I always mention it immediately, so at any point in time you can get an up-to-date overview by looking at my comments on this page: https://repo.getmonero.org/binaryFate

If that general spend policy was to change (say, an important payment appears necessary and does not fall under the two categories above), I would inform the community immediately without waiting for the next report.

Reminder on Core Team funding

Just like the rest of the core team, I am not and I have never been paid for any of my contributions. I am just a passionate volunteer.

Current setup

Until late 2023 we had the following wallets (see also my previous report).

1. GF: The known address for donations, this wallet has existed for many years now. Me and Fluffypony have access to it, plus possibly some other core team members.

2. GF2: A new wallet I created when Fluffypony had issues in the US, to contain bulk of the funds.

End of 2023 following the hack of the CCS wallet (even though the incident had nothing to do with me) I decided to revamp my personal opsec and setup. I deprecated the wallet GF2 (now empty), and moved all funds to a new wallet I call "GF-Vault".

Amounts of XMR as of February 6th, 2025

Drum rolls. Currently 162.980239254745 in GF and 15,584.2318619398 in GF-Vault. (GF2 empty). Total 15,747.212101194545 XMR. The Bitcoin donation address contains 0.21869208 BTC.

All transactions in a readable spreadsheet

I have exported all transactions from the 3 wallets and annotated every spending made since the last report. The format is ODS. Please note there are several tabs in the file! :) Find it here: https://downloads.getmonero.org/GF_report_February_2025.ods

Notes

There are small "debts" outstanding to me, so a heads-up:

• I never refunded myself for the payment I made of the last 2 years of SSL certificate for getmonero.org. Total cost = 140$.

• There are recurring payments for some secondary servers (like matrix, repo...) that are charged to me personally in fiat, and I am supposed to recover costs from corresponding sponsors. If these sponsors fall through, I will eventually refund myself from the GF.

• I will give an explicit notification to the community if/when I execute these transfers, as I am mindful any payment from the GF to me personally is extra sensitive and I want to be vocal about them.

Technical info

Note the Monero General Fund donation address remains 888tNkZrPN6JsEgekjMnABU4TBzc2Dt29EPAvkRxbANsAnjyPbb3iQ1YBRk1UXcdRsiKc9dhwMVgN5S9cQUiyoogDavup3H.

The info below is to verify all wallets activity and outstanding balances.

GF

Base address: 44AFFq5kSiGBoZ4NMDwYtN18obc8AemS33DBLWs3H7otXft3XjrpDtQGv7SqSsaBYBb98uNbr2VBBEt7f2wfn3RVGQBEP3A

View key secret: f359631075708155cc3d92a32b75a7d02a5dcf27756707b47a2b31b21c389501

Key images: https://downloads.getmonero.org/key_images_GF_until_20250206

GF2

Base address: 47Q7HtVaKZKKfxEwK1qJgDdutgxYu892b1qu34Yy1Fow5m1hPQCpQNx6cBTc6tgJDvdggtHqssfybH5AJSaud7t3DffrAXw

View key secret: 5c58e403ec2076594f4791b0322ad4b8720ad6bedfafee03aa3ff97f7b1a540f

Key images: https://downloads.getmonero.org/key_images_GF2_until_20250206

GF-Vault

Base address: 48UUYsQX9fXf34zW5MurZs8SiAZi3nhUZL3d24xSoxniJaDeLSFUrJv7uaPQ8TfRxR8BDHJV7qKxr4bDqKmgGk5KKjXfUA8

View key secret: c19710062c7ca4f3bda9039d323c99b387cd1684ee0ca5fe7bd744a70688c500

Key images: https://downloads.getmonero.org/key_images_GF-Vault_until_20250206

The Bitcoin address is: 1KTexdemPdxSBcG55heUuTjDRYqbC5ZL8H, you do not need a view key to track it or verify its balance ;)

XMRGlobal owns DMSwap. XMRGlobal appears to still be in beta testing for 2 more weeks but DMSwap appears to be live. I just want people here to know that these are out there. I have never used them, but they look promising. As always, use caution and small amounts if you try these out.

From their websites:

XMRGlobal is an anonymous, privacy-focused platform designed for P2P trading of Monero (XMR). It provides escrow services and facilitates safe, secure exchanges without KYC, logs, or JavaScript. XMRGlobal operates to protect user privacy and ensure seamless transactions within the Monero ecosystem. Features

Anonymous: No KYC or registration required. Escrow Services: Secure trades with escrow for buyer and seller protection. P2P Trading: Allows users to trade Monero directly, peer-to-peer. Privacy-Focused: No logs, no tracking, full anonymity.

DMswap provides a fast, no-KYC, and privacy-focused way to swap Monero for various cryptocurrencies, ensuring your anonymity is protected every step of the way.

We're excited to announce that DMswap, the secure and anonymous Monero (XMR) swap platform, is now officially owned by XMRGlobal!

Why DMswap?

No KYC: No personal information required. No Logs: We don’t track or store your data. Fast Swaps: Fast and secure crypto swaps. Privacy-Focused: Swap XMR with confidence knowing your privacy is our priority.

Links:

XMRGlobal Platform (Clearnet): xmrglobal.com

XMRGlobal Platform (Onion): xmrglobalbtadqwzhwohwlonc252y5zfdv3ssoob35n5pb3wrghsvvyd.onion

DMswap (Clearnet): www.dmswap.net

DMswap (Onion): dmswapneth2nzb2v2nbi4t4xqghe5iakklkclmnimsrukddqjqycgead.onion

There's a Telegram bot as well.

And here's their introduction on Reddit from a couple of months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/1h5peos/xmrglobal_now_live/

No gov'ts are excited about XMR.That's why "I Identify as RNG" wants to contribute to it! / (MT 338)

TODAY'S 🎙SHOW: In this episode Douglas Tuman interviews Floppy, a Bitcoin developer for 10 years, who is transitioning to contribute to Monero development. Floppy discusses his work on a coin join implementation called Joinster and his growing interest in Monero. They discuss Bitcoin’s limitations, Monero’s privacy advantages, Lightning Network, atomic swaps, and the broader implications of financial privacy. Floppy shares insights into his background, reasons for moving towards Monero, and potential areas where he might contribute to the Monero ecosystem.

Watch Here (YouTube)➡️ https://youtube.com/live/dOripTcJW0I Listen Here 🎧: https://www.monerotalk.live/monerotalk-338

Coffee & Monero, Go to Gratuitas.org today!

FOLLOW US https://monero.town/u/monerotalk & https://mastodon.social/@monerotalk

Thank you to sponsors, u/cakelabs and u/Stealthex_io as well as u/sunchakr for making these interviews possible! And of course our listeners and supporters for making Monero Talk possible!

Podcasts 🎧 :

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monero-talk/id1445930212 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60lQ05X8lcuXv71fhi6hl7

If you enjoy our show please Subscribe, Like, Share, Rate our YouTube Channel & Podcasts. This will help us grow and spread Monero content!

Someone posted a link to an account marketplace that accepts Monero once to [email protected], but the post has been deleted.

(I don't plan anything illicit, I simply can't create an account on these sites when using a VPN and don't want to verify my phone number.)

My blockchain is 5 years behind and my friend is bringing over an up to date chain. Can I just rsync lmdb and it adds the new blocks or is it better to just paste the new chain in place of the old one? I don't think the up to date one is pruned but if it is will that cause problems if I try to rsync it?

On Linux. Thanks.

🚨 #MoneroTalk Alert!🚨 🗓️TMRW, Thurs 1/30 at 7PM-EST⏳

🔥 No governments are excited about Monero. That is why 1440000bytes wants to contribute to it!

Watch here on X or on YT➡️: https://www.youtube.com/live/dOripTcJW0I

TWITCH ➡️: twitch.tv/monerotalk

Thank you to our show sponsors cakewallet.com / stealthex.io /

In my instance, I receive donations in fiat, ETH and XMR. I like XMR because it's protects both my privacy and donor's privacy.

But at the same time I want to be as transparent as possible. For this, can I share the view key with people? So anyone can check transactions and see the balance.

In the end, what exactly does the view key expose?

Hello, I present to you moneroc - the proper and correct way to conduct Monero/XMR churning.

• https://github.com/antichainalysis/xmr-churner
• https://github.com/antichainalysis/xmr-churner/blob/main/writeup.md

Please read up on the README.md and let me know what you think. I do not claim to be a Monero expert or professional but I may also be incorrect or misinformed on some things.

John Bush may not have gotten the memo that Bitcoin is not worth our time, but I think he's onto Monero and most certainly has kept up with what the US government is doing with crypto. Definitely worth a listen.

For example, for negotiations with exchanges, some official structures, etc.

Exploring Monero’s Future with full time Dev Justin Berman. FCMP++ Integration and more / (MT 337)

TODAY'S 🎙SHOW:In this episode Douglas Tuman interviews Justin Berman, a full-time Monero developer. Justin discusses his work on full-chain membership proofs++, which he's been developing for over six months. He explains that this upgrade, along with Carrot (being developed by Jeff Row), represents significant improvements to Monero's privacy and security features. Justin expresses optimism about implementing these changes before the end of 2025, with code potentially ready for testing within 1-2 months. The conversation also covers the current state of cryptocurrency, including Trump's involvement with meme coins, quantum resistance in cryptocurrencies, and various technical improvements being made to Monero. Justin details how wallet sync times could improve by 60-70% with upcoming changes, and discusses the growing developer community, particularly around the Cuprate project (a Rust implementation of Monero).

Watch Here (YouTube)➡️ https://youtube.com/live/vdotJfl8JLU Listen Here 🎧: https://www.monerotalk.live/monerotalk-337

Coffee & Monero, Go to Gratuitas.org today!

FOLLOW US https://monero.town/u/monerotalk & https://mastodon.social/@monerotalk

Thank you to sponsors, u/cakelabs and u/Stealthex_io as well as u/sunchakr for making these interviews possible! And of course our listeners and supporters for making Monero Talk possible!

Podcasts 🎧 :

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monero-talk/id1445930212 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60lQ05X8lcuXv71fhi6hl7

If you enjoy our show please Subscribe, Like, Share, Rate our YouTube Channel & Podcasts. This will help us grow and spread Monero content!

Exploring Monero’s Future with Full Time Dev Justin Berman. Hear from @justinberman95 on the FCMP++ implementation and more. | Tune-in to a LIVE MoneroTalk episode TODAY 1/20 at 8PM-EST!

👀➡️: https://www.youtube.com/live/vdotJfl8JLU TWITCH ➡️: twitch.tv/monerotalk

Thank you to our show sponsors cakewallet.com / stealthex.io / Exolix.com

I am synching the blockchain on a rpi 4 with 4 gb ram. Sometimes monerod uses upto 3 gb ram and system basicly freezes. Is it normal? Is there any flag that I can use for db sync to be less heavy? Not using any db flags atm.

Thanks!

P2P Economy

• A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

As we all know, Bitcoin, the origin of blockchain, is widely recognized as the most decentralized blockchain and the most valuable cryptocurrency. However, few people realize that in the Bitcoin whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto never mentioned “blockchain” nor “decentralization.” Instead, he used the term “peer-to-peer” (P2P), even placing it directly in the title — “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”

A P2P service is a decentralized platform whereby two individuals interact directly with each other without a third-party intermediary. When we return to first principles and rethink what blockchain truly is, one straightforward explanation comes to mind — blockchain is essentially a P2P network.

The truth is, what we refer to as “on-chain” is actually the consensus layer built on top of the P2P network. However, many business processes don’t need to be on-chain and rely on the consensus layer; they can be handled directly at the P2P network layer. For example, if Alice wants to pay Bob, the ideal way would be for Alice to send the money directly to Bob in a peer-to-peer manner rather than through unnecessary intermediaries (e.g., consensus validators or block producers). This approach is not only faster but also naturally provides privacy protection.

Moreover, building applications at the P2P network layer avoids performance bottlenecks and high transaction fees, enabling the creation of truly useful applications that can achieve mass adoption.

1. The P2P Economy addresses real-world problems with genuine user demand and practical application scenarios (e.g., P2P payment, decentralized storage). This has been thoroughly proven for years rather than being an imaginary need. It can truly create value rather than merely providing tools for speculation.

2. In the P2P Economy, most business logic does not need to be on-chain, eliminating performance bottlenecks and transaction fee issues. As a result, the user experience is greatly improved, making mass adoption more likely.

3. The P2P Economy uses stablecoin payments, making it easy for users to understand and convenient for participants to evaluate service costs and revenue. The use of stablecoins also weakens the speculative narrative of token issuance.

👍 Read the entire article: hackernoon.com - p2p economy blockchain renaissance

Unmasking Elon Musk: Derrick Broze on Free Speech and Technocracy / (MT 336)

TODAY'S 🎙SHOW: In this episode of MoneroTalk Douglas Tuman speaks with independent journalist Derrick Broze about Elon Musk's true intentions, cryptocurrency, and freedom movements. Derrick discusses his early warnings about Musk's connections to the PayPal mafia and government contracts. The conversation explores how Musk's promotion of Dogecoin instead of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero reveals his true priorities. Derrick shares his recent experience with debanking, where Wise froze approximately $5,000 of his funds. The discussion also covers Derrick's upcoming People's Reset conference (January 29th - February 2nd) in Mexico, which expects 300-400 in-person attendees and 10,000 online viewers. The event focuses on practical solutions for freedom, including cryptocurrency adoption, permaculture, and building parallel systems.

Watch Here (YouTube)➡️ https://youtube.com/live/BZyuYRNTN5E Listen Here 🎧: https://www.monerotalk.live/monerotalk-336

Coffee & Monero, Go to Gratuitas.org today!

FOLLOW US https://monero.town/u/monerotalk & https://mastodon.social/@monerotalk

Thank you to sponsors, u/cakelabs and u/Stealthex_io as well as u/sunchakr for making these interviews possible! And of course our listeners and supporters for making Monero Talk possible!

Podcasts 🎧 :

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monero-talk/id1445930212 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60lQ05X8lcuXv71fhi6hl7

If you enjoy our show please Subscribe, Like, Share, Rate our YouTube Channel & Podcasts. This will help us grow and spread Monero content!

Unmasking Elon Musk : Derrick Broze on Free Speech, Technocracy, and Monero’s role in the Fight for True Liberty | Tune-in to a LIVE MoneroTalk episode TONIGHT 1/3 at 6PM-EST!

Watch here on X or on YT➡️: https://www.youtube.com/live/BZyuYRNTN5E

TWITCH ➡️: twitch.tv/monerotalk

Thank you to our show sponsors cakewallet.com / stealthex.io

Happy new year y'all,

I launched XMR.IST Monero alias service 6 months ago, with this service you can create human-readable alias addresses for your long wallet address. Try [email protected] address on your favorite wallet to see the magic 😉

With using NEWYEAR coupon code, you can get your alias address for free: https://xmr.ist/register

P.S. Coupon code applies 0.05 XMR discount, that means you can get 6+ characters long addresses for free. For shorter addresses (and to support my website ^^), you can pay with Monero.

Good article talking about privacy crypto. Basically, I look at this as positive when anyone discusses privacy in a public forum, since most have completely conceded their rights to privacy in today's society.