The Monero Moon (Issue 85)
The Monero Moon is a curated newsletter covering all the latest news within Monero (XMR). We are driven by a compelling need to champion both freedom and financial privacy!
Table of Contents:
Development, Releases, and Technology
General News
Events and Meetings
Exchanges and Merchants
Community Crowdfunding
Trading and Speculation
Network Metrics
Entertainment
Development, Releases, and Technology
SChernykh released P2Pool v4.13. The update adds --log-file and --params-file support for cleaner node management, removes gupax.io seed nodes from the default list, improves peer connection behaviour by prioritising manually added peers, and speeds up RPC calls in --no-randomx mode by sending the RandomX seed directly. Full release notes and downloads are here.
Over the past few weeks, the Monero Research Lab finalized dynamic block scaling parameters for the post-FCMP++ hard fork, opting for 8x short-term median, 16x block weight, and 1.2x long-term median multipliers to allow growth without hard caps. Work also progressed on FCMP++ alpha stressnet testing ahead of v1.5, alongside discussions on spy node bans, failed selfish mining attempts by Qubic, and longer-term scalability ideas like sharding and quorum-based consensus. Read more about it here.
An Android app for Haveno has been released and is now considered stable enough for mainnet use, bringing Monero-focused P2P trading to mobile for the first time. The app supports both a standalone mode that runs the Haveno backend locally and a remote mode that connects over Tor to a VPS, trading off storage and battery use for flexibility, though feature parity with desktop is still in progress. The project is community-built and not officially endorsed by the Haveno developers, with APKs available on GitHub. If you find any bugs, report them here.
Mute has announced plans to actively fund Monero development as its treasury grows, framing privacy scaling as a core responsibility. The team says Monero cross-chain swaps are launching in roughly two weeks, enabling swaps from 70+ chains and immediately exposing thousands of existing users to Monero based flows. Mute also plans to roll out a Monero-focused security widget in Q1 that AI agents can integrate to add privacy and protection by default.
Cake Wallet and Monero.com wallet v5.6.3 have been released. This release fixes QR code scanning issues, includes UI polish, and rolls up a set of general bug fixes. The full release details and downloads are available on GitHub.
A reminder has gone out for Monero users to help test the upcoming FCMP++ and Carrot upgrades on the public alpha Stressnet. FCMP++ replaces ring signatures with full chain membership proofs, expanding Monero’s effective privacy set from 16 decoys to over 100 million outputs across the entire blockchain, while Carrot introduces a new addressing system with added privacy and usability features that remain backwards compatible. Users are encouraged to test and report issues on stressnet to help harden the upgrade before release, with full details and downloads here.
HashVault, one of the larger Monero mining pools, experienced an outage this week after being hit by a DDoS attack, temporarily disconnecting the pool and taking its website offline. Operators confirmed mining continued in the background, though some users reported delays in balance confirmations while the attack was ongoing. Services now appear to be back to normal.
Monero.fail’s network map shows over 14,000 discovered Monero peers, offering a rough but useful snapshot of the network’s size and global distribution. It’s not a complete view, but it gives a solid sense of how large and geographically spread the Monero peer-to-peer network is.
A new European Monero mining pool called EuroXMR has launched, offering 0% pool fees, low latency EU servers, a low 0.005 XMR payout threshold, SSL support, and a fully open source codebase. The pool also introduces a weekly hashrate lottery, where miners earn bonus XMR on top of normal rewards based on their contributed hashrate, even if no block is found that week. More information can be found here and here.
It is highly recommended you run a node to help secure the Monero network. You can also solo mine via the official Monero GUI wallet which can be found here or partake in the decentralized and permissionless P2Pool. The official Monero website GetMonero.org or SethForPrivacy.com are fantastic places to find help to get started running a node or mining. You can also check out the YouTube videos below.
General News
Ungovernable Misfits released a new podcast episode, Monero Monthly 12: Most Used, Least Perused, with hosts Max and Seth walking through recent weeks in the Monero ecosystem. The episode covers XMR continuing to dominate crypto-native merchant usage, CCS proposals, progress on EVM atomic swaps, the launch of SkyLight Wallet, Cake Wallet passing one million downloads, and recent Monero software releases. Full podcast, show notes, and links are available here.
Monero Talk interviewed JW Verret, a former SEC lawyer and law professor, about the SEC’s landmark 2025 Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy, a rare moment where regulators openly aired pro-privacy arguments. Verrett explained how the limits of AML KYC break down when no third party custodian exists, strengthening the legal case for peer-to-peer systems like Monero, while warning that these privacy gains need to be secured before the regulatory climate shifts again. Around the 14-minute mark, JW notes that there is no clear legal reason why exchanges should not be able to list Monero.
Monerotopia episode #243 featured MoneroTopia 2026 speakers Mike Hassard and Tor Ekeland, alongside the usual price report, weekly Monero news, and community updates. The stream covered everything from CCS funding and block size debates to Monero Bazaar listings, legal developments, and where people can earn or spend XMR. It’s a long one so strap in and check it out!
Building on that discussion, Anti Moonboy News dissected the same SEC Roundtable in episode 55, expanding the focus to potential pardons for Samourai Wallet developers and the wider emergence of a so called privacy season. The episode pulled out key panel moments, including pro privacy arguments from JW Verrett, criticism of digital ID creep, and warnings about the risks of programmable compliance and the tyranny of policy embedded directly into smart contracts.
Revuo Monero Issue #252 was recently published. Check it out for a dose of Monero news.
CypherGoat published a new issue of This Week in Monero, covering the latest activity across the Monero ecosystem. You can check out the latest issue here.
Lark Davis, a crypto YouTuber with over 600k subscribers, recently mentioned Monero on a livestream, briefly highlighting why it remains the premier privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
Events and Meetings
The next Monero Tech Meeting is taking place on December 22, 2025, at 18:00 UTC in the #no-wallet-left-behind channels on IRC Libera and Matrix. Logs from the previous meeting can be found here.
The next Cuprate Meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at 18:00 UTC in the #cuprate channels on Libera IRC and Matrix. Cuprate is an ongoing effort to build an alternative Monero node implementation, and this meeting will cover contributor updates, the current project roadmap, and any new proposals from the community. Agenda items can be suggested on GitHub, and logs will be posted there after the meeting.
You can check here on GitHub for updates on any scheduled meetings taking place over the Christmas and New Year period.
MoneroTopia 2026 will be held from February 12–15, 2026, at Huerto Roma Verde in Mexico City, promising four days of talks, workshops, and community events centered on financial privacy and Monero adoption. Hosted by Sunita and Douglas from Monero Talk, the conference features speakers such as Rucknium, Diego Salazar, Paul Puey, and Amir Taaki. Tickets are available on monerotopia.com, including discounted and free local options.
Exchanges and Merchants
Another car has popped up for sale on XMR Bazaar. For just over 8 XMR, you can pick up a 2009 Toyota Corolla sedan, local pickup only in Houston, Texas. XMR Bazaar is a peer-to-peer marketplace where goods and services are bought and sold using Monero, making it a practical example of private digital cash in everyday use without relying on custodial platforms or surveillance based payment rails.
phloatingman shared an updated printable you can use over the holiday period to gift Monero to friends and family, with the latest version adding handy P2P links for onboarding. The printable PDF and editable source files are available on GitHub, making it easy to customize and pair with a traditional gift if needed.
Proton has quietly enabled Monero payments via its official reseller ProxyStore, allowing users to pay with XMR through a recognised Proton partner rather than directly on Proton’s own checkout. More information can be found here.
Vettontide has launched 0xNull, a Monero-only, privacy-first prediction market offering live markets across major crypto assets and sporting events with no KYC and no stablecoins. Built using Monero wallet rpc and automated deposit addresses, the project positions itself as a private alternative to platforms like Polymarket, aiming to prove that prediction markets can function without identity checks or traceable on-chain assets. More information can be found here and here.
UEX.US, a US-based instant crypto exchange, has announced Monero trading is now live, offering XMR spot trading and making it one of the few centralized exchanges in the United States currently listing Monero. The platform is operated by Wyoming-based UEX Capital Corp and is available only in a limited set of US states due to state-level regulatory requirements. More information can be found here.
Monero perpetual futures are now live on Hyperliquid via a permissionless deployment by Felix Protocol, using Hyperliquid’s HIP 3 market factory that allows independent teams to launch perp markets without an official exchange listing. The XMR/USDH market provides leveraged price exposure to Monero without requiring spot XMR custody, marking a notable step for Monero derivatives on a fully onchain order book, with early metrics showing roughly $1M in 24 hour volume and around $1.1M in open interest.
PerpetualCow has launched HyperWagyu, a new bridge designed to make acquiring Monero easier directly from Hyperliquid, without touching HyperEVM or navigating complex multi-step swaps. The project offers a simple deposit in, receive XMR out flow and is positioned as early infrastructure for a future trustless atomic swap model, highlighting continued demand for Monero access after widespread exchange delistings, though the current implementation still relies on intermediary trust assumptions and should be treated as experimental rather than trustless today.
ShopinBit reported that Monero was the most used payment currency on its platform not just in November, but across 2025 as a whole, topping Bitcoin and USDT by transaction volume. According to ShopinBit’s data, XMR led usage in seven months this year, reinforcing its role as the preferred spendable crypto for real world purchases.
Wondering how you can actually spend your XMR in the real world? Check out the Monerica YouTube channel, which focuses on practical ways to live using Monero day to day. The channel covers merchant walkthroughs, product and service reviews, exchange breakdowns, step by step guides, and real order demos, making Monero usage feel concrete rather than theoretical.
A new open source project called XMRMeet has launched, aiming to make Monero more usable in the real world by helping users find others willing to meet locally for peer to peer XMR and cash exchanges. The site features a simple listing based directory and is fully community run, though users should consider personal safety and privacy before participating.
Community Crowdfunding
Several crowdfunding proposals are awaiting community feedback before they can start accepting funds through the Community Crowdfunding System (CCS). For now, they are just proposals, but if they receive some positive feedback from the community they will be moved to a “Funding Required” stage so that they can accept Monero donations through the CCS.
Trading and Speculation
The XMR/BTC weekly chart is showing a notable technical shift, with Monero moving above the cloud for the first time since early 2023. A confirmed close has signaled a bullish reversal, with a large inverted head and shoulders pattern suggesting this could mark a major trend change.
Network Metrics
Monero continues to grind higher in the CoinMarketCap rankings and, at the time of writing, sits at #13, ahead of both Hyperliquid and Zcash.
Total Monero in Circulation : 18,689,758 XMR
Monero Total Marketcap: $8,848,495,452
CoinMarketCap Ranking: #13
XMR ‘street price’ from RetoSwap: $582 (+23%)
XMR/USD Price: $472
XMR/BTC Price: 0.005284 BTC
Monero Network Hashrate: 6.38 Ghash/s
Monero Mining Pools Hashrate Distribution:
Entertainment
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Have we missed something?
If we’ve missed something important, let us know! As this is our first issue after a few months, we might have overlooked some news. Feel free to DM if there’s anything you’d like included in a future issue.
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