Wownero is a community-driven, privacy-centric memecoin that launched on April 1, 2018. It is a software fork of the Monero blockchain, combining Monero's privacy technology with a cultural ethos inspired by Dogecoin. The project emphasizes anonymity, decentralization, and a fair launch, with its primary stated function being a "magic internet money" for micro-tipping meme creators and other online content producers. ^{[1] [3]}

Overview

Wownero positions itself as an independent, privacy-focused cryptocurrency rooted in cypherpunk and crypto-anarchist principles. Its slogan, "Putting the fun in fungibility," reflects its dual focus on robust privacy features and a lighthearted, meme-centric community culture. The project was launched without a premine, Initial Coin Offering (ICO), or ongoing developer tax, a model the community refers to as a "fair launch." This approach was designed to distance the project from venture capital-funded or influencer-driven cryptocurrencies and to foster a purely community-governed ecosystem. ^{[1] [2]}​

The core purpose of Wownero is to serve as a fungible and untraceable digital currency for small-scale online transactions. While its primary use case is the tipping of content creators, the project's informal branding also humorously suggests its utility for activities like betting on "online snail racing" and "Polish slap tournaments" to underscore its identity as a memecoin. The project's development and direction are managed by an anonymous, decentralized group of contributors and funded through a community-driven system. ^[1]​

History

Wownero was launched on April 1, 2018, a date chosen to align with its humorous and satirical identity. The project was introduced by a group of anonymous developers described as a "rag-tag group of cypherpunks and crypto-anarchists" on the Bitcointalk forum. ^[1]​

From its inception, the project adhered to a strict "fair launch" policy, meaning no coins were pre-mined or allocated to the founders, no funds were raised via an ICO, and no portion of mining rewards is automatically diverted to a development fund. This model was intended to ensure a decentralized distribution of its native token, WOW, from the outset. Wownero was also an early implementer of the RandomX proof-of-work algorithm, which was later adopted by Monero. Sources suggest Wownero may have been the first cryptocurrency to adopt RandomX, positioning it as a testing ground for CPU-friendly mining algorithms. ^{[1] [2]}​

Technology

Wownero's technological foundation is based on a software fork of Monero and the underlying CryptoNote protocol, which provides its core privacy and anonymity features. ^{[1] [2]}​

Consensus and Mining

Wownero utilizes a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to secure its network and issue new coins. It employs a lite version of the RandomX hashing algorithm, which is optimized for mining on general-purpose CPUs. The algorithm is designed to be ASIC-resistant by using a virtual machine that executes randomly generated programs, a process that is difficult to accelerate with specialized hardware. This promotes a more decentralized mining environment. The network is also configured to be "Mega-Pool Resistant," encouraging solo mining directly from a user's Wownero node rather than through large, centralized mining pools. ^{[1] [2]}​

Privacy Features

As a privacy coin, Wownero is designed to keep user identities and transaction details confidential. Key privacy features include:

• Ring Signatures: To obscure the origin of a transaction, the sender's signature is mixed with a number of other signatures (decoys), making it computationally infeasible to determine which user authorized the payment. Wownero claims to use a "larger ring size" than its parent, Monero, to provide an enhanced level of privacy.
• Stealth Addresses: One-time public addresses are automatically generated for each transaction, preventing third parties from linking multiple payments to the same recipient.
• Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT): This feature hides the amount of cryptocurrency being sent in a transaction from everyone except the sender and the recipient.

These features, derived from the CryptoNote protocol, ensure that account balances and transaction histories remain private on the blockchain. ^{[1] [2]}​

Source Code

The project is fully open-source, promoting transparency and community contribution. The official source code repositories are hosted on Codeberg and a self-hosted Git instance, allowing for public review and development participation. ^{[1] [2]}​

Tokenomics (WOW)

The native cryptocurrency of the Wownero network is WOW. It is used for transactions, tipping, and participating in the project's governance and funding systems.

• Maximum Supply: The total supply of WOW is fixed at 184.46 million. ^[2]
• Emission Schedule: The full supply of WOW is scheduled to be emitted through mining rewards over a 50-year period from its launch. ^[1]
• Circulating Supply: As of information collected from CoinMarketCap, the circulating supply was approximately 86.97 million WOW, representing about 47.15% of the maximum supply. This figure changes over time as new blocks are mined. ^[2]
• Distribution: Consistent with its fair launch principles, all WOW tokens have been introduced into circulation through mining rewards, with no allocation for a premine, ICO, or venture capital investors. ^{[1] [2]}

Ecosystem

The Wownero ecosystem is maintained by its community and includes a variety of development tools, user-facing applications, and community platforms.

Development and Funding

Project development is sustained through voluntary contributions and a community-managed treasury. The Wownero Funding System (WFS) is a platform where community members can submit proposals for development, marketing, or other initiatives. These proposals are then discussed and funded by the community through donations. This system allows the project to evolve without centralized corporate control or a mandatory developer tax. A general development fund, funded by donations, is also available to support ongoing maintenance and operational costs. ^[1]​

Community and Resources

The Wownero community is active across several platforms. A central part of its ecosystem is SuchWOW, a dedicated meme-sharing and tipping platform where users can post content and tip creators with WOW.

Other official community hubs include Reddit, Telegram, Discord, and an IRC channel. The project encourages both technical and non-technical contributions, such as creating art and music, writing tutorials, translating materials, running a full node, and participating in the WFS.

Additional resources for users and developers include a public block explorer, a list of public nodes, and community-created directories like the YellWOWPages. ^{[1] [2]}​