Monero Gets Ledger Support - Crypto Disrupt

With the release of Monero’s v0.12.2.0 comes a handful of new features, the most exciting of which being that the coin will now have Ledger support. This means that, for the first time, users can keep their XMR stored on their Ledger Nano S hardware wallet.

Releasing support for Ledger has been one of the most significant missions for the Monero development team, and it was a feature that had been requested by fans for years. As Monero tends to draw in a somewhat cautious and paranoid crowd due to its privacy features, it makes sense that having Ledger integration was one of the group’s main desires.

The reason it took so long for support was due to the way Monero is programmed. To accommodate for privacy, its code is written in a way that is more complex than many other coins. When it came to bringing it to Ledger Nano S, developers had to write new code to make it work. They were unable to copy over code from coins like Bitcoin or DASH.

Other announcements in the update

Ledger support isn’t the only news coming from the v0.12.2.0 update. There will be a new GUI design to help beginners become acquainted with the coin and software. No details have been released regarding how this will look, but hopefully, it makes Monero more friendly to work alongside. Fluffy blocks will also now be enabled by default. These are blocks in the chain that require less data to facilitate transactions.

RingCT tests have been added to ensure that Monero transactions are staying as private as they possibly can be. These tests may have been added as a means of reassuring users of Monero’s competency. A recent study found that the Monero rival, Zcash, was failing its users by not upholding its privacy standards.

Another striking update is that there will be tweaks to how ASICs are handled on the blockchain. Monero will be tightening its controls to prevent them from taking further advantage of the mining community. To see that the coin is still fighting against ASICs will be comforting to most fans who feared that companies like Bitmain would try and take over the ecosystem.