💎 Monero (XMR) Guide

💰 What is Monero (XMR)?

Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to be completely untraceable and anonymous.

Why Monero Instead of Bitcoin?

Monero Privacy Features on DrugHub Market

• Ring Signatures: Your transaction is mixed with 15 others, making it impossible to tell which is yours
• Stealth Addresses: Every transaction creates a new, one-time address for the recipient
• RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions): Transaction amounts are completely hidden
• Dandelion++: IP address obfuscation when broadcasting transactions

These privacy features are why DrugHub Market accepts only Monero - they ensure both buyer and vendor financial privacy.

💼 Setting Up Monero Wallet

Option 1: Official Monero GUI Wallet (Recommended)

Best for: Most users, maximum privacy

Download:

1. Visit official site: getmonero.org
2. Download "Monero GUI Wallet" for your OS
3. Verify download hashes (advanced users: verify GPG signature)
4. Install and launch

Setup:

1. Select language
2. Choose "Create new wallet"
3. Select "Advanced mode" → "Standard wallet"
4. Give wallet a name (e.g., "DrugHub-Wallet")
5. CRITICAL: Write down the 25-word mnemonic seed
   • This is your backup - write it on paper
   • Store in multiple secure offline locations
   • Never store digitally or take photos
   • If lost, your funds are gone forever
6. Set strong wallet password
7. Choose daemon mode:
   • Simple mode (Remote node): Faster setup, slightly less private
   • Advanced mode (Local node): Full privacy, requires 150+ GB disk space and several days to sync
8. Wait for sync to complete

Option 2: Cake Wallet (Mobile)

Best for: Mobile users, convenience

• Download from official app store (iOS/Android)
• Create new wallet
• Back up 25-word seed
• Set PIN

Option 3: Feather Wallet (Lightweight)

Best for: Low-resource computers, Tails OS users

• Lightweight alternative to GUI wallet
• Uses remote nodes by default
• Faster sync times

📬 Understanding Monero Addresses

Primary Address

Your main Monero address (starts with 4...)

• 95 characters long
• Can be reused safely (stealth addresses protect privacy)
• Share this to receive XMR

Subaddresses (Recommended)

Generate unlimited unique addresses from your primary address:

• Starts with 8...
• Improves privacy and organization
• Use different subaddress for each vendor/order
• Never reuse subaddresses

Creating Subaddresses:

• GUI Wallet: Go to "Receive" tab → Click "Create new address"
• Label each subaddress (e.g., "Vendor-AlphaSupply", "DrugHub-Order-123")

Integrated Addresses

Used by some merchants - combines address + payment ID

• Starts with 4... but longer (106 characters)
• DrugHub generates these automatically for deposits

💵 How to Buy Monero

Method 1: No-KYC P2P Exchanges (Most Private)

Method 2: Non-KYC Instant Exchanges (Fast but Slightly Less Private)

Method 3: KYC Exchanges (Least Private)

📤 Sending Monero to DrugHub

Step-by-Step Process

1. Get Deposit Address from DrugHub
   • Login to DrugHub
   • Go to Wallet → Deposit
   • Copy XMR deposit address (integrated address)
2. Open Your Monero Wallet
3. Go to "Send" Tab
4. Enter Details:
   • Address: Paste DrugHub deposit address
   • Amount: How much XMR to send
   • Priority:
     • Default/Normal: ~20 minutes (recommended)
     • High: ~5 minutes (higher fee)
     • Low: ~30 minutes (lower fee)
5. Review Transaction
6. Click "Send"
7. Enter wallet password
8. Wait for Confirmations
   • DrugHub typically requires 10 confirmations (~20 minutes)
   • Check "History" tab to monitor

Transaction Fees

Monero fees are very low, typically:

• Normal priority: ~$0.01-$0.05
• High priority: ~$0.05-$0.15

📥 Receiving Monero (Withdrawals)

Withdrawing from DrugHub

1. Open your Monero wallet
2. Go to "Receive" tab
3. Generate new subaddress (recommended for each withdrawal)
4. Copy your Monero address
5. On DrugHub: Go to Wallet → Withdraw
6. Paste your Monero address
7. Enter amount
8. Enter PIN
9. Enter 2FA code (if enabled)
10. Confirm withdrawal
11. Wait for processing (usually 5-15 minutes)
12. Check your wallet's "History" tab

Checking Transaction

In your wallet "History" tab, you'll see:

• Pending: Transaction broadcast but not confirmed
• Confirming: Confirmations in progress (X/10)
• Confirmed: Transaction complete and spendable

🔒 Monero Privacy Best Practices

• ✅ Use official Monero GUI wallet or Feather wallet
• ✅ Run your own node for maximum privacy (advanced)
• ✅ Use subaddresses for each transaction
• ✅ Never reuse addresses
• ✅ Buy from no-KYC sources when possible
• ✅ Wait 10+ confirmations before spending received XMR
• ✅ Use Tor when accessing exchanges
• ✅ Keep wallet software updated
• ✅ Backup 25-word seed offline
• ❌ Never keep funds on exchanges
• ❌ Never share your private keys or seed
• ❌ Never take screenshots of wallet balances
• ❌ Don't discuss amounts on clearnet

🔧 Common Issues

📚 Additional Resources

• Official Site: getmonero.org
• Reddit: r/Monero
• Block Explorers: xmrchain.net, localmonero.co/blocks
• Price Tracking: CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap
• Community: Monero community on Matrix

🔬 Deep Dive: Monero Privacy Technology

Ring Signatures Explained

Ring signatures are the foundation of Monero's transaction privacy. When you send XMR, your transaction is cryptographically mixed with multiple other transactions, making it impossible to determine which output was actually spent. Here's how this works in practice:

Imagine you're signing a document, but instead of just your signature, you create a signature that could have come from any member of a group. An observer can verify that someone from the group signed it, but cannot determine which specific member. Monero applies this concept to transactions:

1. Decoy Selection: When you spend XMR, your wallet automatically selects decoy outputs from the blockchain
2. Ring Formation: Your real output is mixed with these decoys to form a "ring"
3. Signature Creation: A ring signature proves one of the ring members authorized the spend, but not which one
4. Verification: Network nodes verify the signature is valid without learning the true spender

As of 2025, Monero uses a ring size of 16, meaning every transaction has 15 decoys plus your real output. This provides strong statistical anonymity against most deanonymization attempts.

Stealth Addresses in Detail

Stealth addresses ensure that even if someone knows your public Monero address, they cannot see how much you've received or link incoming transactions to your address on the blockchain. The process works as follows:

• One-Time Keys: Each sender generates a unique, one-time public key for your transaction
• Derivation: This key is mathematically derived from your public address but is unique to each transaction
• Scanning: Your wallet scans the blockchain and can recognize payments intended for you using your private view key
• Unlinkability: An outside observer cannot link these one-time addresses to your main address

RingCT: Hiding Transaction Amounts

Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT) hide the amounts being transferred. Before RingCT, transaction amounts were visible on the Monero blockchain. Now, all amounts are cryptographically concealed:

• Pedersen Commitments: Amounts are encoded as cryptographic commitments that hide the value
• Range Proofs: Mathematical proofs verify the amount is positive without revealing it
• Balance Verification: The network confirms inputs equal outputs plus fee, all while keeping amounts hidden

This means that on the Monero blockchain, an observer sees only that a valid transaction occurred - not who sent it, who received it, or how much was transferred.

Dandelion++ for Network Privacy

Even with strong on-chain privacy, broadcasting transactions could leak your IP address. Dandelion++ addresses this:

• Stem Phase: Your transaction first propagates through a random path of nodes (the "stem")
• Fluff Phase: After several hops, it's broadcast widely (the "fluff")
• Origin Obscurity: By the time most nodes see the transaction, its origin point is untraceable

🛡️ Security Considerations for DrugHub Users

Protecting Your Monero Wallet

Your Monero wallet contains your private keys, which control access to your funds. Protecting this wallet is paramount for DrugHub operations:

Operational Security with Monero

Beyond wallet security, how you use Monero matters for maintaining privacy:

Time-Based Analysis Protection

Sophisticated adversaries might try to correlate transaction timing with your online activity. Mitigate this by:

• Delayed sends: Don't immediately spend XMR you just received
• Random timing: Vary when you make transactions
• Batch operations: Consolidate multiple small transactions into fewer larger ones
• Wait for confirmations: Let received XMR "age" before spending (10+ blocks minimum)

⚙️ Advanced Monero Usage for DrugHub

Running Your Own Node

For maximum privacy, consider running your own Monero node. While remote nodes are convenient, they can potentially log your wallet's queries:

Benefits of a personal node:

• No third party sees which transactions your wallet queries
• Strengthens the Monero network through decentralization
• Faster wallet synchronization after initial blockchain download
• Verify transactions yourself without trusting remote infrastructure

Requirements:

• 150+ GB storage (growing over time)
• Stable internet connection
• Computer that can run 24/7 (optional but preferred)
• Initial sync takes 1-3 days depending on hardware

Using Monero with Tor

Route your Monero wallet traffic through Tor for additional network-level privacy:

This prevents your ISP from seeing that you're using Monero and protects against network-level transaction analysis.

Churning for Enhanced Privacy

"Churning" means sending Monero to yourself to increase your anonymity set. While Monero transactions are already private, churning provides additional protection in certain scenarios:

• After receiving from a KYC exchange, churn 2-3 times before using on DrugHub
• Wait several hours or days between churns
• Use different amounts each time (don't send exact totals)
• Each churn adds your transaction to new ring signatures

🔗 Monero and DrugHub Integration

How DrugHub Uses Monero

DrugHub's walletless escrow system leverages Monero's features to provide secure, private transactions:

• Direct-to-escrow payments: Your XMR goes directly to multi-signature escrow, never sitting in a centralized hot wallet
• Integrated addresses: DrugHub generates unique integrated addresses for each deposit, simplifying payment identification
• Automatic confirmation: The market monitors the blockchain and credits your account after 10 confirmations
• Withdrawal to any address: You can withdraw to any valid Monero address, including subaddresses

Deposit Best Practices

When depositing XMR to DrugHub:

1. Generate a fresh deposit address for each deposit
2. Double-check the address before sending (compare first and last 6 characters)
3. Send a small test amount first for large deposits
4. Use normal or elevated priority for timely confirmations
5. Don't deposit from exchanges directly - use your own wallet as intermediary

Understanding Confirmation Times

Monero blocks are mined approximately every 2 minutes. DrugHub requires 10 confirmations for deposits, meaning:

• Minimum deposit time: ~20 minutes (10 blocks × 2 minutes)
• Average deposit time: ~25-30 minutes (accounting for block time variance)
• Network congestion: During high traffic, times may increase slightly

If your deposit doesn't appear after 45 minutes with confirmed transaction, contact DrugHub support with your transaction ID.

❓ Extended FAQ