Guide · facts checked October 18, 2026
What is XMR? The Monero coin explained
XMR is the ticker of Monero, a cryptocurrency launched in 2014 whose transactions don't show the sender, the receiver or the amount on its public blockchain. Here is how it works, how it differs from Bitcoin, and how to get some.
Quick answer
- XMR = Monero. XMR is the ticker, the way BTC is for Bitcoin. "Monero" is Esperanto for "coin".
- Private by default: every transaction hides the sender, the receiver and the amount, according to getmonero.org.
- Supply: about 18.82 million XMR on 18 October 2026, plus 0.6 XMR per block (about every 2 minutes), forever.
- Getting some: swap BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL to XMR here, with no account.
Order
Send exactly
on the network to:
- You get (quoted)
- Rate
- Quote valid
- Your address
- Payout transaction
- Created
- Send the exact amount above from your wallet.
- We check the deposit wallet, and once your deposit confirms we send the amount quoted above to your address, even if the price has moved since. The quote holds for deposits sent within 30 minutes; a deposit sent later gets the market rate when it is processed.
- This page updates by itself. Keep your order ID to check later on the Track order page.
Questions? Email service@silentxmr.com with your order ID.
XMR and Monero: the same coin
Monero is a cryptocurrency, and XMR is its ticker symbol, so "XMR coin", "Monero coin" and "XMR crypto" all mean the same thing. getmonero.org describes it as a private, decentralized cryptocurrency, and lists security, privacy and decentralization as its values.
Monero launched in April 2014 from the CryptoNote code. Its about page says there was no premine or instamine, and that no part of the block reward goes to development. The FAQ says it is an open-source community project with no company running it and no CEO; more than 500 developers have contributed.
How Monero keeps transactions private
getmonero.org's FAQ says three techniques hide the sender, the amount and the receiver of every transaction, and that privacy is mandatory for all transactions:
- Ring signatures (sender): your real input is signed together with decoys taken from the blockchain, so an observer can't tell which one is yours. Every ring has 16 members (15 decoys plus yours) since the August 2022 network upgrade.
- Stealth addresses (receiver): the sender creates a new one-time address for every payment, so your address never appears on the blockchain.
- RingCT (amount): amounts are hidden, while the network can still check that no coins were created from nothing.
You can choose to show your incoming payments, for example to an accountant: a wallet's view key lets someone see the transactions it receives, but not spend them. The spend key, part of your seed, is what moves funds.
Supply, blocks, mining and fees
- Supply: the main emission finished in mid-2022 at about 18.13 million XMR. Since block 2,641,623 (9 June 2022), each block adds a fixed 0.6 XMR, the "tail emission", which getmonero.org says is under 1% a year and falling. On 18 October 2026 about 18.82 million XMR existed.
- Blocks: a new block about every 2 minutes. Received XMR can be spent after 10 blocks, about 20 minutes.
- Mining: RandomX, an algorithm designed for ordinary CPUs rather than specialised hardware.
- Fees: dynamic, set by transaction size and network load. On 18 October 2026 a typical transaction paid about 0.00003 to 0.00005 XMR.
Want some XMR? Swap to it in a few steps.
- Kraken's live price minus 0.5%. You see exactly what you get before you send.
- Your rate is locked for 30 minutes from the moment you create the order. Send in time and the amount is yours.
- BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL in, XMR out to your address. Or the other way round.
Monero vs Bitcoin
Both are open-source cryptocurrencies with no company behind them, but they make different choices:
- What the blockchain shows: bitcoin.org says all Bitcoin transactions are public and anyone can see the balance and transactions of any address. Monero hides the sender, the receiver and the amount of every transaction.
- Supply: Bitcoin stops at 21 million coins, per bitcoin.org. Monero keeps adding 0.6 XMR per block after its main emission.
- Block time: about 10 minutes for Bitcoin, about 2 minutes for Monero.
- Origins: getmonero.org says Monero is not based on Bitcoin but on the CryptoNote protocol.
Full comparison: Monero vs Bitcoin. Many people hold both. You can swap BTC to XMR or XMR to BTC here without an account.
Is Monero safe?
Monero's code is open source and has been developed in public since 2014. Its cryptography has been reviewed: getmonero.org says Bulletproofs, used to keep transactions small, was audited by QuarksLab and Kudelski Security, and that CLSAG signatures were audited by external researchers. Security problems are reported through a published vulnerability process with bounties paid in XMR.
The FAQ is also clear about limits: it says no system can promise perfect privacy and that Monero may have bugs, and that if you give your name and address to someone, Monero can't make them forget it. For your own funds, the practical safety steps are the usual ones: download wallets only from their official sites, verify them, and keep your seed offline.
How to get XMR
- Get a wallet. Feather or the Monero GUI on a computer, Cake Wallet on a phone. Write down the seed and copy a receive address (it starts with 4 or 8). See Monero wallets compared.
- Swap a coin you hold. Pick BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL in the swap card and paste your Monero address. You see the XMR you'll get, at Kraken's last price minus 0.5%, locked for 30 minutes.
- Send the exact amount to the deposit address on your order. Once it confirms, the XMR is sent to your wallet by hand.
Starting from cash? See where to buy Monero. Today's price: XMR price.
Get XMR now, no account needed.
- Kraken's live price minus 0.5%. You see exactly what you get before you send.
- Your rate is locked for 30 minutes from the moment you create the order. Send in time and the amount is yours.
- BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL in, XMR out to your address. Or the other way round.
Get Monero in your own wallet. No account, no ID.
- Kraken's live price minus 0.5%. You see exactly what you get before you send.
- Your rate is locked for 30 minutes from the moment you create the order. Send in time and the amount is yours.
- BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL in, XMR out to your address. Or the other way round.
Questions
What is XMR?
XMR is the ticker symbol of Monero, a cryptocurrency launched in 2014 whose transactions hide the sender, the receiver and the amount.
Is XMR the same as Monero?
Yes. XMR is the ticker and Monero is the name, like BTC and Bitcoin.
How many XMR are there?
About 18.82 million on 18 October 2026. The main emission ended in 2022, and 0.6 XMR is added with every block, about every 2 minutes.
Is Monero better than Bitcoin?
They make different choices. Bitcoin's transactions and balances are public and its supply stops at 21 million; Monero hides sender, receiver and amount and keeps a small permanent emission. Many people hold both.
Is Monero safe?
Its code is open source and parts of its cryptography have been audited. getmonero.org also says no system can promise perfect privacy and bugs are possible. Keep your seed offline and download wallets only from official sites.
How do I buy XMR?
If you hold crypto, swap it: SilentXMR turns BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC or SOL into XMR with no account, from a $50 minimum. Questions go to service@silentxmr.com.
Sources
Pages we checked on October 18, 2026. Apps, exchanges and services change, so check the current version before you rely on a detail.
- getmonero.org: home page www.getmonero.org
- getmonero.org: about Monero www.getmonero.org/resources/about
- getmonero.org: FAQ www.getmonero.org/get-started/faq
- Moneropedia: ring signatures www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/ringsignatures.html
- Moneropedia: stealth addresses www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/stealthaddress.html
- Moneropedia: RingCT www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/ringCT.html
- Moneropedia: ring size www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/ring-size.html
- Moneropedia: view key www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/viewkey.html
- Moneropedia: tail emission www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/tail-emission.html
- Moneropedia: RandomX www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/randomx.html
- Moneropedia: Bulletproofs (audits) www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/bulletproofs.html
- Monero docs: technical specs docs.getmonero.org/technical-specs
- Monero release v0.18.0.0 (ring size 16, August 2022 upgrade) github.com/monero-project/monero/releases/tag/v0.18.0.0
- xmrchain.net API: emission xmrchain.net/api/emission
- bitcoin.org: protect your privacy bitcoin.org/en/protect-your-privacy
- bitcoin.org: FAQ bitcoin.org/en/faq