Monero (XMR)
Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to make on-chain analysis infeasible. Ounceo accepts XMR directly (most bullion dealers route crypto through BitPay, which does not support XMR) and applies an automatic 1.5% discount.
Monero's privacy by default is the structural difference from Bitcoin. Where Bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous but fully traceable on a public ledger, Monero transactions hide sender, receiver, and amount.
For a buyer who has already gone through the operational overhead of holding XMR, having to bridge back to BTC or fiat just to buy gold defeats the purpose. Direct XMR settlement closes that gap. At Ounceo, XMR orders need 10 confirmations (~20 minutes) before fulfillment is queued.
The 1.5% discount on XMR-paid orders reflects the fact that XMR settles finally with no on-chain reorg risk and no reconciliation effort, reducing our operational cost.
Related terms
Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency. Ounceo accepts BTC both on-chain (2 confirmations, ~20 minutes) and via Lightning Network (instant settlement, 0.5% discount). Quote prices are USD-denominated; the BTC amount is locked for 30 minutes against the live BTC/USD rate at quote issuance.
An on-chain confirmation is one block mined on top of the block containing your transaction. Ounceo requires 2 confirmations for BTC on-chain (~20 minutes), 10 for XMR (~20 minutes), 20 blocks for ETH and ERC-20/TRC-20 stablecoins (~5 minutes on ETH, ~1 minute on TRON, ~10 seconds on Solana).
BTCPay Server is a self-hosted, open-source crypto payment processor. It connects to your own BTC and Lightning node and accepts payments without any third-party intermediary. Ounceo currently uses direct wallet receiving; BTCPay self-hosting is on the roadmap for V2 to streamline reconciliation.