Monero is committed to continued research into financial privacy as it involves cryptocurrencies. Below you'll find work from our researchers, with more papers to come.
The Monero Research Lab (MRL) is an open, collaborative team of researchers working on cutting-edge cryptography and privacy technologies. Our work focuses on improving Monero's protocol, analyzing potential vulnerabilities, and advancing the state of financial privacy research.
Papers written by MRL members on cryptography, privacy, and protocol improvements.
This technical note describes an algorithm used to prove knowledge of the same discrete logarithm across different groups. The scheme expresses the common value as a scalar representation of bits, and uses a set of ring signatures to prove each bit is valid.
Read PaperWe present threshold ring multi-signatures (thring signatures) for collaborative computation of ring signatures, present a game of existential forgery, and discuss uses in digital currencies including spender-ambiguous cross-chain atomic swaps for confidential amounts.
Read PaperThis bulletin describes a modification to Monero's linkable ring signature scheme that permits dual-key outputs as ring members. Key images are tied to both output one-time public keys, preventing both keys from being spent separately.
Read PaperThis technical note generalizes the concept of spent outputs using basic set theory. The definition captures a variety of earlier work on identifying such outputs. We quantify the effects of this analysis on the Monero blockchain.
Read PaperWe document a new address scheme that allows a user to maintain a single master wallet address and generate an arbitrary number of unlinkable subaddresses. Each transaction needs to be scanned only once to determine if it is destined for any of the user's subaddresses.
Read PaperThis article introduces a method of hiding transaction amounts in Monero. A new type of ring signature, A Multi-layered Linkable Spontaneous Anonymous Group signature, is described which allows for hidden amounts, origins and destinations with reasonable efficiency.
Read PaperWe identify several blockchain analysis attacks available to degrade untraceability of CryptoNote 2.0. We analyze solutions, discuss merits and drawbacks, and recommend improvements including protocol-level minimum mix-in policies.
Read PaperThe purpose of this note is to clear up misconceptions and remove mystery surrounding Monero Ring Signatures. We compare the mathematics in CryptoNote ring signatures to the original paper on which it is based.
Read PaperThis research bulletin describes deficiencies in the CryptoNote reference code allowing for an attack on 4 September 2014, describes the solution, and elaborates upon what the offending block did to the network.
Read PaperThis research bulletin describes a plausible attack on ring-signature based anonymity systems. It demonstrates that untraceability can be dependent upon all keys used in composing a ring signature, allowing for chain reactions in traceability.
Read PaperWe extend Triptych to build Arcturus, a proving system that proves knowledge of openings of multiple commitments to zero within a single set, correct construction of a verifiable random function, and value balance across a separate list of commitments within a single proof.
Read PaperWe introduce Triptych, a family of linkable ring signatures without trusted setup based on generalizations of zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge of commitment openings to zero. Signatures are logarithmic in the anonymity set size and can be efficiently verified in batches.
Read PaperWe demonstrate that a version of non-slanderability is a natural definition of unforgeability for linkable ring signatures. We present a linkable ring signature construction with concise signatures and multi-dimensional keys.
Read PaperWe introduce a general, low-cost, low-power statistical test for transactions in transaction protocols with small anonymity set authentication (TPSASAs), such as Monero. The test classifies transactions as ad hoc or self-churned. We extend these tests to exploit prior information about user behavior and discuss test parameterization.
Read PaperMonero uses a unique hash function that transforms scalars into elliptic curve points. This document translates its code implementation into mathematical expressions.
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