monero-site/_posts/2021-04-24-this-year-in-monero.md

---
layout: post
title: "This Year in Monero - 2021"
summary: A snapshot of statistics and social media posts to highlight Monero's growth in it's 7th year.
tags: [community]
author: sethsimmons
---

# Introduction

As a way to celebrate and show the growth that has happened for Monero across the past year on this, the 7th anniversary of the Monero project, I wanted to take a snapshot of statistics and social media posts to highlight this growth.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of ways in which Monero grew, and some of the most important growth came in increased acceptance and adoption of Monero for donations and payments:

- [Merchants accepting Monero for payment](https://www.getmonero.org/community/merchants/)
- [FOSS Projects and Pro-Privacy Organizations accepting Monero for donations](https://sethsimmons.me/posts/foss-donations/)

# Statistics

One of the most important ways we can deduce what has been happening in Monero is to look at the (thankfully, sparse) blockchain data available publicly.

Each section will highlight the previous year (04/2019 through 04/2020) as well as the current year (04/2020 through 04/2021) to give year-over-year comparisons and perspective.

## Transactions

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero transactions grew from ~7,000tx per day to ~10,000tx per day
- There were ***2,811,244*** total transactions, for an average of ***7,702*** transactions per day for the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-6y-transactions.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero transactions grew from ~10,000tx per day to ~23,000tx per day
- There were ***5,868,096*** total transactions, for an average of ***16,076*** transactions per day for the year

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-7y-transactions.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

### Year over Year Growth

Monero's on-chain usage grew ***208%*** YoY! Every one of these transactions was done via private-by-default transactions that protect sender, receiver, and amounts.

## Blockchain Growth

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero's blockchain grew ***7.41GB*** in a year.
- There were ***292,651*** total blocks, for an average size of ***29.56KB*** per block for the year.
- There were ***2,811,244*** total transactions, for an average of ***2.76KB*** per transaction.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-6y-blockchain.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's blockchain grew ***13.34GB*** in a year.
- There were ***262,588*** total blocks, for an average size of ***53.30KB*** per block for the year.
- There were ***5,868,096*** total transactions, for an average of ***2.38KB*** per transaction.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-7y-blockchain.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">


### Year over Year Growth

Monero's blockchain size grew ***180%*** faster YoY while the average transaction size dropped ***13.76%*** YoY (thanks, [CLSAG](https://www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/clsag.html))!

## Emissions

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero's block subsidy (emission) created ***599,105.65XMR***.
- There were ***292,651*** total blocks, for an average block subsidy of ***2.04XMR*** per block for the year.
- Monero's emission per day dropped from ***~2,000XMR*** to ***~1,200XMR*** over the course of the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-6y-emissions.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's block subsidy (emission) created ***362,406.83XMR***.
- There were ***262,588*** total blocks, for an average block subsidy of ***1.38XMR*** per block for the year.
- Monero's emission per day dropped from ***~1,200XMR*** to ***~750XMR*** over the course of the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-7y-emissions.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

### Year over Year Change

Monero's inflation decreased ***39.5%*** YoY and is steadily approaching the [tail emission](https://localmonero.co/knowledge/monero-tail-emission) of ***0.6XMR*** per block!

## Fees

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero's participants spent ***1,101.07XMR*** on fees in a year.
- Monero averaged ***3.016XMR*** in fees spent per day.
- There were ***262,651*** total blocks, for an average total fees to miners of ***0.00419288XMR*** per block for the year.
- There were ***2,811,244*** total transactions, for an average of ***0.000391666XMR*** per transaction.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-6y-fees.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's participants spent ***1,884.77XMR*** on fees in a year.
- Monero averaged ***5.16XMR*** in fees spent per day.
- There were ***262,588*** total blocks, for an average total fees to miners of ***0.00717767XMR*** per block for the year.
- There were ***5,868,096*** total transactions, for an average of ***0.000321189XMR*** per transaction.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-7y-fees.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

### Year over Year Growth

Monero's fees spent increased ***71.11%*** YoY while the average transaction fee dropped ***17.99%*** YoY (thanks, [CLSAG](https://www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/clsag.html))!

## Mining

***12/2019 through 04/2020:***

*NOTE: This time range begins with the implementation of RandomX in the November 30th, 2019 network upgrade.*

- Monero's network hashrate increased from ***0.682GH/s*** to ***1.21GH/s*** over the year.
- Monero forked to the ASIC-resistant mining algorithm known as [RandomX](https://www.monerooutreach.org/stories/RandomX.html?ref=hackernoon.com).
- Monero started after the RandomX upgrade with ***~27,000 miners***.
- Monero unique miners increased from ***27,247*** to ***37,380*** over the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-hashrate-2020.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's network hashrate increased from ***1.21GH/s*** to ***2.29GH/s*** over the year.
- Monero broke ***100,000 miners*** for the first time in it's network history!
- Monero unique miners increased from ***37,380*** to ***102,163*** over the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/monero-hashrate-2021.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

*** Disclaimer: These miner numbers are the lower bound, as they are the numbers visible via API of public pools where the API is reachable and provides miner count. There are likely many more miners that are solo, use private pools, or are on pools that do not expose miner count.***

### Year over Year Growth

Monero's network hashrate increased ***89.25%*** YoY and network miners increased ***173.30%*** YoY and ***274.95%*** since the introduction of RandomX!

## Reddit

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero's main subreddit, [r/Monero](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero) gained ***~11,000*** subscribers, going from ***~157,000*** to ***~168,000*** subscribers over the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/subreddit_2020.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's main subreddit, [r/Monero](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero) gained ***~43,000*** subscribers, going from ***~168,000*** to ***~211,000*** subscribers over the year.

<img src="/blog/assets/2021-04-18-this-year-in-monero/subreddit_2021.png" position="center" style="border-radius: 8px;">

### Year over Year Growth

Monero's subreddit subscriber count grew ***25.59%*** YoY and grew ***290%*** faster than the previous year!

### Top Ten Reddit Posts

- [I'm glad Monero is used by criminals](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/mpf8b3/im_glad_monero_is_used_by_criminals/)
- [Today was an emotional rollercoaster; first I win a known amount of XMR in the Meme Contest, and then I tragically loose my private keys in a boating accident. What a day. Thank you for voting!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/m72wb1/today_was_an_emotional_rollercoaster_first_i_win/)
- [Hal Finney, the first person to receive Bitcoin from Satoshi, took 11 days to realized he wanted more anonymity.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/mo1m2a/hal_finney_the_first_person_to_receive_bitcoin/)
- [A privacy 🔐 crisis is brewing. Defend yourself against tracking and surveillance](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/m60oah/a_privacy_crisis_is_brewing_defend_yourself/)
- [Monero Visionary](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/lj6hrf/monero_visionary/)
- [Satoshi talking about privacy features that got implemented in Monero but not Bitcoin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/morrpp/satoshi_talking_about_privacy_features_that_got/)
- [I'm happy to announce Haveno: The Monero based DEX for trading XMR for fiat and cryptocurrencies! (PoC)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/mmrchk/im_happy_to_announce_haveno_the_monero_based_dex/)
- [Saw this piece of art in 4chan](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/mi3m2o/saw_this_piece_of_art_in_4chan/)
- [Reminder of the sound money report card](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/lidcri/reminder_of_the_sound_money_report_card/)
- [200k subscribers to r/Monero! 🥳](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/lq3lac/200k_subscribers_to_rmonero/)

## Twitter

***04/2019 through 04/2020:***

- Monero's main Twitter account, [@monero](https://twitter.com/monero) gained ***3,502*** followers.
- The @monero Twitter account went from ***317,010*** to ***320,512*** followers.

***04/2020 through 04/2021:***

- Monero's main Twitter account, [@monero](https://twitter.com/monero) gained ***69,209*** followers.
- The @monero Twitter account went from ***319,884*** to ***389,093*** followers.

### Year over Year Growth

Monero's Twitter follower count grew ***21.63%*** YoY and grew ***1,870%*** faster than the previous year!

### Top Ten Tweets

- "Love this #Monero cheat sheet. Get your privacy on - @coinbureau"
  - <https://twitter.com/coinbureau/status/1382348948803883010?s=20>
- "'Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.' ― Edward Snowden #monero $XMR - @girlgone_crypto"
  - <https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1275427089294876674?s=20>
- "Over 100k miners securing the #Monero network. New ATH. No ASICs. One CPU. One vote. <https://miningpoolstats.stream/monero> - @DontTraceMeBruh"
  - <https://twitter.com/DontTraceMeBruh/status/1383481500704788489?s=20>
- "I'll have you know that the words 'Monero' and 'XMR' are not mentioned in Chainalysis crypto crime report 2021 that just came out. Not even once, over 113 pages. - @binaryFate"
  - <https://twitter.com/binaryFate/status/1359926676138909699?s=20>
- "If #monero came out first, then #bitcoin, everybody would say 'Why would I give up my privacy?'"
  - <https://twitter.com/vikrantnyc/status/1366375047812812804?s=20>
- ""In Nobody We Trust" - #Monero - @girlgone_crypto"
  - <https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1326280779643543552?s=20>
- "Now you know why I was so bullish for #Monero last year. The upcoming $XMR - $BTC atomic swaps are going to be a gamechanger. Will be interesting to see how much BTC 'disappears' from the #Bitcoin network when it goes live. - @coinbureau"
  - <https://twitter.com/coinbureau/status/1360983149778526213?s=20>
- "And the #Monero network has been upgraded! Enjoy your 20% cheaper, lighter, and faster to verify private *by default* transactions. #MoneroKeepsBuilding #CLSAG - @sethisimmons"
  - <https://twitter.com/sethisimmons/status/1317258377945374721?s=20>
- "Bitcoin was envisioned as an *anonymous* P2P digital cash. However, that title is today best reserved for privacy coins like #Monero. In my video today, I look at Monero once again and explain why I think $XMR is so undervalued - @coinbureau"
  - <https://twitter.com/coinbureau/status/1376204882106068995?s=20>
- "We're excited to see THORChain, a cross-chain decentralised liquidity network, collaborating with Haven to integrate #Monero!"
  - <https://twitter.com/monero/status/1382646165456498688?s=20>

# Highlighted CCS Campaigns

- Bulletproofs+ audits
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/bulletproofs-plus-audit.html>
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/bulletproofs-plus-audit-jp.html>
- Feather wallet GUI development
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/feather-2020.html>
- CLSAG audit
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/clsag-audit-take2.html>
- Research post-quantum strategies for Monero
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/research-post-quantum-monero.html>
- Monero Atomic Swaps research funding
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/h4sh3d-atomic-swap-research.html>
- Monero Atomic Swaps implementation funding
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/h4sh3d-atomic-swap-implementation.html>
- Add Monero to TxStreet
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/txstreet-2021.html>
- anon: perfect peer to peer protocol from bottom to top
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/anon-perfect-peer-to-peer-protocol.html>
- tipxmr.live - a non-custodial livestream donation service for OBS
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/tipxmr.live.html>
- Compilation time reduction and housekeeping
  - <https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/mj-compil-time-reduction.html>

# Major Upgrades

- [CLSAG, a new ring signature mechanism that improves transaction efficiency](https://www.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/clsag.html)
  - "CLSAG, users see a 20% improvement in signature verification, and at least a 10% overall improvement for typical transactions. For example, a typical Monero transaction (2 inputs and 2 outputs) which usually weighs 2.5kB, takes only 1.9kB of blockchain space with CLSAG, a ~25% improvement."
- [Monero put out several updates to resolve and prevent network attacks from a prolonged and aggressive attack on the p2p network](https://sethsimmons.me/posts/moneros-ongoing-network-attack/)
  - "Monero’s peer-to-peer (p2p) network has been undergoing several different types of attack by an entity who has consistently attacked, spammed, and attempted to undermine the Monero network and community for years."

# Something Missing?

If you see something missing from this post that was a major highlight of the year, please feel free to reach out via [Twitter, Matrix, or email](https://sethsimmons.me/about/#how-to-contact-me) and I'll work to get it added ASAP.

# Resources Used

Here is a quick list of the sources and tools I used to gather these statistics:

- `monero-blockchain-stats`, using some hints from the following link for plotting:
  - <https://github.com/monero-project/monero/pull/4694>
- [Gnuplot](https://www.gnuplot.info/) for the graphs from data pulled via `monero-blockchain-stats`
- <https://miningpoolstats.stream/monero> for hashrate graph and current miner count
- <https://subredditstats.com/r/monero> for subreddit-related statistics and graphs
- <https://github.com/oduwsdl/FollowerCountHistory> for Twitter follower count history for @monero

***Disclaimer: I am the author of <https://sethsimmons.me/posts/this-year-in-monero-2021/> and the content for this blog post was originally shared there first.***