Monero Research Lab’s Concise Linkable Ring Signatures (CLSAG) Audit Ready, Funds Requested

The nature of cryptocurrencies means financial transactions are open for illegal monitoring. Monero obfuscates blockchain transactions for improved privacy and anonymity. Towards this end, the Monero Research Lab has issued a funding request for the auditing of the Concise Linkable Ring Signatures (CLSAG). In this audit, the Monero Audit Workgroup will work with Teserakt and Open Source Improvement Fund (OSTIF) according to an update published on GitLab, June 4, 2020.

OSTIF, Teserakt Partner with Monero Audit Group

CLSAG is an improvement of Monero’s Multilayer Linkable Spontaneous Anonymous Group Signatures (MLSAG) and promises efficient transactions without sacrificing privacy. 

Privacy is what underpins Monero. One of the main reasons Monero has a decent market capitalization is because of its anonymity leaning. 

This won’t be the first time the Monero Audit Group will be working with OSTIF. OSTIF is on an anti-censorship campaign and audited RandomX and BulletProofs codes. 

RandomX is a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm adopted by Monero. It is used to drive the egalitarianism ideals of the project by prioritizing privacy and decentralization. 

To counter ASICs, the RandomX algorithm makes it complex for ASIC manufacturers to optimize their hardware for mining XMR.

Triptych, Arcturus, and RingCT 3.0

OSTIF’s participation in CLSAG is an endorsement for Monero. The Research program, CLSAG, will eventually–if there is consensus, be replaced by Triptych, Arcturus, or RingCT 3.0 through a hard fork. Still, going forward, Triptych is the main highlight.

From Monero’s documentation, Triptych is summarized as a logarithmic-sized linkable ring signatures solution. Its objective is to add more anonymity by using a type of zero-knowledge proving system as a building block for linkable ring signatures. These link signatures can scale logarithmically without necessarily affecting performance.

Arcturus is an extension of Triptych but there are doubts about whether it shall be adopted since it is based on non-standard mathematics. 

The RingCT 3.0 improves Ring Confidential Transactions enabling Monero’s Ring signatures to run on a reduced block size with better security. By reducing ring signature sizes, users enjoy lower transaction fees which in turn has a dramatic effect on the ever-expanding cryptocurrency economy.

On May 25, 2020, Monero version 0.16.0.0, the Nitrogen Nebula, was launched.