Almost a decade later, Monero (XMR) is the top privacy coin by market capitalization and has sparked important discussions about the role of privacy and traceability in the blockchain ecosystem. Monero market growthIn recent years, Monero has experienced substantial growth, reaching a market capitalization of nearly $2.8 billion as of May 2023. Monero mining rewardsSimilar to the Bitcoin blockchain, Monero utilizes a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. Between March 2020 and January 2023, Chainalysis identified a representative sample of recipients of Monero mining rewards. Monero bans and regulationGiven Monero’s growth and popularity, it is often the primary focus in conversations about privacy coin bans and regulation.