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Zero to Monero: a technical review of the Monero protocol

Zero to Monero. Kurt M. Alonso and Koe.

Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.

A reading of the project's public design document. Not a copy, not a benchmark, and not an offer.

Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.
Evidence
Primary paper
Re-measured
No
Assumptions
3
Records linked
2

01 Claim ledger

What the paper is allowed to say

Each row is a sentence already in the study. The status is the same on every row: a model claim, not a live measurement.

  1. Claim 01 · Paper model

    The defect

    CryptoNote defined an earlier design. Monero's later choices, including how amounts are hidden, are a different stack. This book is one map of that stack.

  2. Claim 02 · Paper model

    The proposal

    Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.

  3. Claim 03 · Paper model

    The mechanism

    Ring signatures hide which input was spent, inside a set. The size and selection of the set are parameters the book discusses and the code decides.

  4. Claim 04 · Paper model

    The bound

    This note does not claim the book matches every current release.

02 Three cuts

Observation, model, falsifier

A desk does not stop at the summary. Each claim is cut three ways, using only this study's own assumptions and checks. Nothing here is a new figure.

  1. 01 The defect

    Observation

    What the study says

    CryptoNote defined an earlier design. Monero's later choices, including how amounts are hidden, are a different stack. This book is one map of that stack.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading Zero to Monero, a secondary technical review of a primary protocol. Check it against the code if you are implementing.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Which edition of the book are you citing?

  2. 02 The proposal

    Observation

    What the study says

    Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading Zero to Monero, a secondary technical review of a primary protocol. Check it against the code if you are implementing.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Does the software you mean still use the construction that edition describes?

  3. 03 The mechanism

    Observation

    What the study says

    Ring signatures hide which input was spent, inside a set. The size and selection of the set are parameters the book discusses and the code decides.

    Model

    What has to hold

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Which edition of the book are you citing?

  4. 04 The bound

    Observation

    What the study says

    This note does not claim the book matches every current release.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading Zero to Monero, a secondary technical review of a primary protocol. Check it against the code if you are implementing.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Which edition of the book are you citing?

03 Sequence

One action, as an operating tape

  1. 01Ring signatures hide which input was spent, inside a set. The size and selection of the set are parameters the book discusses and the code decides.
  2. 02Confidential amounts hide the value. They are not implied by CryptoNote.
  3. 03A review can lag the software. The edition you opened has a date, and later upgrades can leave it behind.

04 Load-bearing

The argument, and where a pitch drops it

  1. What the name has to mean

    The cut

    Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    The historic CryptoNote review in the old PDF library is a third document. Do not merge the three.

  2. What actually moves

    The cut

    Confidential amounts hide the value. They are not implied by CryptoNote.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    The historic CryptoNote review in the old PDF library is a third document. Do not merge the three.

  3. What a later deployment may change

    The cut

    A review can lag the software. The edition you opened has a date, and later upgrades can leave it behind.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    The historic CryptoNote review in the old PDF library is a third document. Do not merge the three.

05 Register

What has to be true

  • Model · Not re-measured

    You are reading Zero to Monero, a secondary technical review of a primary protocol. Check it against the code if you are implementing.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    The document is the one at the source URL. A marketing page with the same brand is not this text.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

06 Divergence

What happened after the paper

The historic CryptoNote review in the old PDF library is a third document. Do not merge the three.

A later client, parameter set, or reward formula is a different object. Cite this paper for the mechanism. Cite a primary release for the network. This desk has not re-run the proof.

07 Pre-mortem

What to check before you use the idea

  4. 0 of 3 marked on this browser. A mark is a reading note, not a pass, a rating, or a recommendation.

08 Anatomy

The paper, in the order a builder needs

The problem it names

CryptoNote defined an earlier design. Monero's later choices, including how amounts are hidden, are a different stack. This book is one map of that stack.

What the design proposes

  • Ring signatures hide which input was spent, inside a set. The size and selection of the set are parameters the book discusses and the code decides.
  • Confidential amounts hide the value. They are not implied by CryptoNote.
  • A review can lag the software. The edition you opened has a date, and later upgrades can leave it behind.

How the mechanism is specified

  • Ring signatures hide which input was spent, inside a set. The size and selection of the set are parameters the book discusses and the code decides.
  • Confidential amounts hide the value. They are not implied by CryptoNote.
  • A review can lag the software. The edition you opened has a date, and later upgrades can leave it behind.

What this page does not treat as proven

  • This note does not claim the book matches every current release.
  • It states no anonymity measurement.
  • The historic CryptoNote review in the old PDF library is a third document. Do not merge the three.

Why the desk still reads it

Zero to Monero is a book-length explanation of how Monero's transactions, ring signatures, and confidential amounts fit together. It is not the CryptoNote paper and not a substitute for the source code.

09 Lexicon

Terms, opened into the record

Ring signature
A signature by a set, used so the spent input is not revealed.
Confidential amount
An amount hidden in the transaction. CryptoNote did not, by itself, provide this.

10 Repository

Every linked record on this page

Underlined words open a page that already exists: a concept, a protocol profile, a failure record, or another paper. If a word is not underlined, this desk does not have a record for it.

This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.

Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.