The Monero privacy coin has officially been upgraded to version v0.13.0.0, which according to the official Twitter account, is a prerequisite for further improvements such as adding a GUI wallet. While this may not sound interesting, considering how this update will not be the one bringing the GUI forth, it has instead brought with it another impressive change. v0.13.0.0 significantly reduces transaction fees by around 90%, making Monero more economically friendly than ever before. This update was expected to go live on October 18. However, the effects regarding transaction fees were not fully noticeable until October 20.
Monero transaction fees have changed
To reduce transaction fees, a fundamental element of how Monero works has been changed. Monero now utilizes a whole new method for transmitting data— Bulletproofs. In a blog post from December 2017, the Monero developer Sarang Noether wrote an article regarding Bulletproofs which went into detail about how exactly they work. In a nutshell, they allow the Monero blockchain to transmit data about whether a transaction is valid without revealing the actual amount, the sender, or recipient in a more efficient way. It is an improvement on the way that Zero-Knowledge Proofs were handled on the network prior.
Before this update, Monero transaction fees were calculated by the quantity being sent, as well as the level of anonymity you wanted (i.e., the number of ring signatures you initially wanted the transaction to be included in). Now, these two factors have much less bearing on the cost.
Monero’s next steps
Monero’s plans for the future include providing a fully operational GUI wallet, which should entice users who are interested in getting involved with the coin but don’t want to rely on web wallets or cold storage. This is in a move to make the coin more accessible to the wider crypto community— one of Monero’s first steps towards this was when it integrated with Nano Ledger S (a highly demanded feature from fans).
The v0.13.0.0 update also continues Monero’s recent tradition of staying ASIC resistant. The update sets in motion a handful of smaller changes needed to ensure that GPU miners get priority over those that use machines often designed by Bitmain.
Kai is a cryptocurrency copywriter and professional trader. He can often be found investigating various cryptocurrencies, whitepapers, and blockchain technologies. Kai has been a professional writer for 5+ years, and has invested in 50+ different coins and tokens. He also currently studies Law and Philosophy at university.