By Michael Scott
A former committee member at MAGIC Monero Fund has indicated that frequent swapping of Bitcoin for the privacy coin is likely leaking some information. Csilla Brimer’s pronouncement comes after a Wednesday, January 24 publication in MTV Uutiset that the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) successfully tracked transactions executed using the crypto considered untraceable and preserving privacy.
Users Fault to Blame for Leaking Details in Monero-based Transactions
Brimer ruled out the unlikely event that Monero (XMR) was compromised in a commentary dismissing Finnish investigators’ claim of tracking transactions from untraceable coins.
Brimer indicates that the Finnish KRP traced transactions owing to the users’ fault in operational security. The former committee member ruled out Monero as having compromised its privacy-preserving mechanism.
Brimer warned that careless users who are unconcerned with their operational security and are fond of Bitcoin-Monero switching are likely to leak some information. She added that regulators will likely leverage the slip-up in claiming the capability to track Monero.
Besides co-founding the Open Economy Initiative, Brimer, who now specializes in blockchain consultancy, hailed Monero as solid at guarding one’s privacy and transaction details. Nevertheless, she warned that Monero will not shield one from slip-ups arising from security habits.
Did Finnish Investigators Crack Monero?
The KRP reported their sustained scrutiny of the transactions executed by an address linked to a data breach in 2018 and the resulting extortion of Finland-based psychotherapy provider Vastaamo in the Wednesday publication.
The law enforcement detailed how, in 2020, the hackers stole data from Vastaamo twice. The actors threatened to make patients’ private information public unless they were paid.
The threats prompted investigators to send 0.1 Bitcoin to the concerned address and, since then, examined the wallet’s funds movement involving Bitcoin-Monero swaps.
The analysis prompted the Finnish investigators to allege cracking on how to trace the XMR transactions. Nonetheless, the KRP remained cagey on how they did it.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) head, Marko Leposen, indicated that the additional sections detailing the findings remained encrypted. He informed MTV Uutiset that the investigative agency is unwilling to reveal further details regarding the Monero traffic analysis.
Monero Performance Activity
Brimer, who joined the MAGIC Monero Fund in 2022, downplayed the Finnish officials’ claims. Although recently struck off by several crypto exchanges, she indicated that XMR still is the largest privacy-preserving crypto with a $2.927 billion market capitalization.
At press time, the XMR token was exchanging hands at $$161.46, which was 1.9% up in the past 24 hours, as per CoinGecko. Monero has witnessed $50.622 million in trading volume, representing a 36.30% decline in the past 24 hours, indicative of a plunge in market activity.
Further scrutiny of the Monero token shows that it remains 70.23% away from the all-time high price of $542.33 realized six years ago on January 9 2018.
The Monero capital is up 1.5% in its seven-day run while preserving the 4.1% rally in the past two weeks. The positive performance has yet to overcome the comparative dip in the monthly and annual periods of 8.1% and 9.8%, respectively. Still, Monero is underperforming other privacy coins that have realized a 3.10% rally, as per CoinGecko data.
Binance Mulls Delisting Monero (XMR)
Beyond the recent revelation by Finnish NBI cracking the privacy preservation, Monero is subject to multiple money laundering claims. The bad actors association prompted various crypto exchanges, including Huoi, BitBay, and Bittrex, to delist XMR to appease the regulators in curtailing money laundering.
The move replicates the 2021 decision by US-based Kraken to delist Monero for UK customers to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Besides, Monero tops the privacy coins that Binance mulls delisted from its cryptocurrency exchange. The largest crypto exchange by transaction volume was revealed at the onset of the 2024 decision to delist Monero and Zcash, alleging they exhibit higher volatility and cannot satisfy the listing criteria.