Privacy-centric cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) has gone live with a new version of its node software.
Monero Goes-Live with ‘Oxygen Orion’
One of the most well-known privacy-centric digital currencies today, Monero recently officially unveiled a new version of its node software called ‘Oxygen Orion.’
Notably, the latest update to the node software is the result of the work of about 30 Monero developers. The Oxygen Orion update promises a slew of new performance enhancement features across nearly all aspects of the privacy-focused digital currency.
For instance, the update brings with itself the compact linkable spontaneous anonymous group (CLSAG) feature. Per the official source, the CLSAG feature will dramatically reduce the network transaction sizes by about 25 percent and improve transaction times by 10 percent. At the same time, it will also maintain transaction privacy.
The Monero developers noted:
“CLSAG enables smaller and faster transactions with rigorous security.”
Besides the CLSAG, Oxygen Orion brings with itself several new features. These include security improvements to the network, particularly pertaining to Dandelion ++, which is responsible for hiding user IP address.
Of note, every Monero update can be considered a hard fork in technical terms which necessitates network participants to ensure that their software is up to date. The blog adds that users who have their XMR in hardware wallets must stay updated with the latest firmware.
The Oxygen Orion update comes just a few months after Monero officially launched Nitrogen Nebula which brought a swathe of privacy and speed-enhancing features to the network.
Regulators Clamping down on Monero
While major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) continue to experience slow embrace from regulators the world over, privacy cryptocurrencies such as XMR aren’t really in the good books of government authorities.
In September, BTCManager reported how the U.S. IRS had announced that it was offering $625,000 for decoding Monero.
The announcement read in part:
“IRS-CI is seeking a solution with one or more contractors to provide innovative solutions for tracing and attribution of privacy coins, such as expert tools, data, source code, algorithms, and software development services.”
More recently, an Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment 2020 report by Europol classified actors using privacy coins, wallets, decentralized marketplaces, and related technologies as ‘top threats.’
