Tornado Cash Ruling & Merchant Adoption of Monero: March 2025

1. Upcoming Monero Tech Meeting: Key Agenda Items

The Monero community is gearing up for its next Tech Meeting on March 31, 2025, chaired by rbrunner7 in the #no-wallet-left-behind IRC/Matrix channels. Key topics include:

• Seraphis/JAMTIS: Progress on the next-gen privacy protocol, aiming to enhance transaction efficiency and anonymity. Developers are refining cryptographic components, with testnet integration expected later this year .
• FCMPs (Full-Chain Membership Proofs): A CCS proposal by kayabaNerve is under active discussion, focusing on improving Monero’s scalability and auditability. The community has shown strong support, with donations flowing into the CCS platform .
• Network Upgrades: Discussions on dynamic block size adjustments and RandomX optimizations to maintain ASIC resistance.

Recent logs from the March 3 meeting highlight debates on balancing privacy features with regulatory compliance, though no major drama has surfaced publicly.

2. Ecosystem Growth: Privacy in Demand

Monero’s adoption is surging due to increased regulatory scrutiny and demand for financial privacy:

• Merchant Adoption: More vendors now accept XMR, particularly in sectors valuing anonymity (e.g., VPNs, privacy tools) .
• DeFi Integration: Projects like Haveno DEX are gaining traction, enabling trustless XMR swaps. Developers are also exploring privacy-preserving smart contracts .
• Exchanges: Despite delistings on major platforms (Binance, Coinbase), smaller exchanges like KuCoin and decentralized platforms like Exolix report rising XMR volumes .

3. Community Funding & Bounties

The CCS platform and bounties.monero.social are buzzing with activity:

• FCMPs Funding: kayabaNerve’s CCS proposal has secured ~80% of its target, signaling strong community backing. Progress updates suggest a Q2 2025 test phase .
• Bounties: Recent payouts include fixes for GUI wallet bugs and improvements to multisig documentation. A notable bounty for Seraphis-related code audits remains open, drawing developer interest.

4. Drama & Regulatory Shifts

• Tornado Cash Ruling: A 2024 court decision lifting OFAC sanctions on Tornado Cash has indirectly boosted Monero’s legitimacy. Analysts speculate this could lead to XMR relistings on regulated exchanges .
• Community Tensions: Minor debates flared on IRC between plowsoff and ofrnxmr over prioritization of FCMPs vs. Seraphis, though the discussion remained constructive. No public “drama” has escalated beyond typical developer disagreements.

5. Market Sentiment & Technical Analysis

Monero’s price hovers at $223.90 (as of March 27), with a TD Sequential Buy Signal flashing on charts. Analysts like Ali (@ali_charts) predict a bullish reversal, targeting $230-$235 if resistance breaks . The 200-day SMA ($223.89) and rising RSI (56.35) suggest cautious optimism .

Looking Ahead

Monero’s roadmap for 2025 hinges on:

1. Seraphis/JAMTIS deployment to counter quantum computing risks.
2. Regulatory navigation as governments tighten crypto surveillance.
3. Community-driven development, with CCS proposals ensuring decentralized innovation.

Stay tuned for updates post-March 31 Tech Meeting, where critical decisions on network upgrades will unfold.

For real-time discussions, join the #monero-research-lab and #monero-dev IRC channels. Follow @Monero on Twitter and monitor the CCS platform for funding opportunities.