Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade by Monero (open-source project): status and timeline

Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade

Make digital cash as private as paper cash: outsiders should not be able to trace payments. FCMP++ removes the last statistical tricks analysts use to guess which of a payment's 16 decoys is real.

DeployStage 4 of 5

Live since 2014. FCMP++ and Carrot on a public stressnet (forked 2026-10-05); no mainnet date set.

Updated 6d agoChecked 11 Oct1 update this week

Milestones

Next · Final audit phase of FCMP++ consensus code

Monero network launches18 Apr 2014Complete.
RandomX CPU-friendly mining activatedNov 2019Complete.
Ring size 16, Bulletproofs+ and view tags (hard fork)13 Aug 2022Complete.
FCMP++ design publishedApr 2024Complete.
FCMP++ and Carrot beta stressnet forks6 May 2026Complete.
Stressnet v3 with hot-cold wallets and RandomX v25 Oct 2026Complete.
Final audit phase of FCMP++ consensus codeTarget Q4 2026Current milestone.
FCMP++ mainnet hard fork (no date set)Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026Final audit phase of FCMP++ consensus code (next)

Current obstacles

Hardware wallets and multisig not readyOn the stressnet, hardware wallet signing, multisig and transaction proofs did not yet work; hot-cold wallet support arrived only in v3.
Heavier transactionsWhole-chain proofs are bigger and slower to check than today's ring signatures, so weight and fee rules for the new transactions are still being set.
Mining-power attacksThe Aug 2025 Qubic episode showed one pool can briefly control enough hashrate to reorganise blocks.

Physics limits

Privacy costs bytes and CPU timeHiding which coin you spent means proving something about many coins at once. Proof size and checking time grow with the hidden set, so every node pays more per transaction than on a transparent chain.
Hidden supply can't be audited by eyeWith amounts encrypted, nobody can sum balances to check for inflation; safety rests on the cryptography and the code being correct, which is why bugs here are so dangerous.
Proof of work security scales with valueAn attacker needs more mining power than everyone else. For a chain whose total mining reward is small, renting or redirecting that much power is affordable.

How it works

4 parts

Today

Ring signatures with 15 decoys

A payment's signature proves the spender owns one of 16 past outputs without saying which. Analysts can sometimes guess using decoy age and patterns.

FCMP++

Prove membership in the whole chain

All outputs sit in one large tree (Curve Trees). The spender proves in zero knowledge that their coin is a leaf of it, so any past output could be the source.

Carrot

New address scheme, old addresses still work

Carrot changes how wallets derive keys, adding security, privacy and usability features while keeping existing addresses valid.

Process

Ship when audited, not by date

With no company in charge, the upgrade goes through public test networks and crowdfunded audits; a hard fork date is set only after both finish.

Spec sheet

Spec	Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade
Block time	2 minutes^R (reported)
Possible senders per payment	16 (rings)^R (reported)
Possible senders with FCMP++	150+ million outputs^R (reported)
Supply cap	None (0.6 XMR per block tail emission since 2022)^R (reported)
Exchanges that delisted XMR in 2025	~73^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Papers & demos

1 item

Apr 2024blog
Full-Chain Membership Proofs Development (opens getmonero.org)The design that replaces 16-member rings with proofs over the whole chain, built on Curve Trees.

Update log

4 updates

About Monero (open-source project)

The team behind Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade

Monero (open-source project)

Private-by-default cryptocurrency

Monero is a cryptocurrency, launched in 2014, that hides sender, receiver and amount in every transaction by default. It has no company or foundation in charge: mostly pseudonymous developers worldwide build it, paid through community crowdfunding.

FCMP++ would hide each payment among 150M+ past outputs instead of 16; its third test network forked on 2026-10-05.
No mainnet date: it ships after audits and tests. The last consensus code entered the final audit phase on 2026-09-30.
About 73 exchanges dropped XMR in 2025 under EU and anti-money-laundering rules; Binance delisted it in Feb 2024.

getmonero.org (opens getmonero.org)Company profile →

Founded: 201412 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Non-profit
Valuation: non-profit
Works in: CryptoBlockchains (L1s)
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 6d agochecked 11 Oct
People: Luke Parker (kayabaNerve) (opens getmonero.org)Designer of FCMP++Riccardo SpagniFormer lead maintainer

Spec

Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade

Block time

2 minutes^R (reported)

Possible senders per payment

16 (rings)^R (reported)

Possible senders with FCMP++

150+ million outputs^R (reported)

Supply cap

None (0.6 XMR per block tail emission since 2022)^R (reported)

Exchanges that delisted XMR in 2025

~73^R (reported)

Monero network & FCMP++ upgrade

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Ring signatures with 15 decoys

Prove membership in the whole chain

New address scheme, old addresses still work

Ship when audited, not by date

Spec sheet

Papers & demos

Update log

Mon 5 Oct

Wed 6 May

Aug 2025

Sat 13 Aug 2022

About Monero (open-source project)

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Ring signatures with 15 decoys

Prove membership in the whole chain

New address scheme, old addresses still work

Ship when audited, not by date

Spec sheet

Papers & demos

Update log

Mon 5 Oct

Wed 6 May

Aug 2025

Sat 13 Aug 2022

About Monero (open-source project)