Why the Monero fork on October 5 doesn't affect your XMR: FCMP++ hits the stress testing network

Network fork on October 5: Monero's Beta stress test network, not the main network

On Monday, October 5, 2026, a fork occurred on the Monero network. But that doesn't affect the main network you own XMR on: The fork occurred on an independent test network, which developers call the "Stressnet." As a result, anyone holding Monero does not need to take any action that day: no need to operate a wallet, no need to withdraw money from an exchange, and no need to redeem it. However, the shift this test points to will be the most far-reaching impact on Monero's privacy protection in years, and the launch date for the main network has not yet been set.

The core of the story lies in this distinction. There is a clear, documented date, which involves the testing environment, and an open date for the reconstruction plan that will determine how anonymous Monero will be in a few years and how exchanges in the EU will handle it. This article distinguishes the two and tells you which one is related to your assets.

On Friday, September 25, 2026, the development team responsible for this change released version v0.19.0.0-beta.3.0, the so-called FCMP++ and Carrot Beta Stressnet v3.0. According to the developer, the package will fork with its previous test network at a block height of 3102800 on October 5, 2026.

压力测试网是一个故意增加负载的测试网络。它的目的是通过比日常使用更多的交易、数据和参与者来冲击协议，以观察其崩溃点。其中的代币没有价值，其中的区块链不是Monero的主链，那里的分叉不会对主网产生任何影响。

这种区分很重要，因为关于该日期的新闻标题通常只说“10月5日Monero硬分叉”。对于持有者来说，这听起来像是一个需要采取行动的网络变更，类似于Monero过去大约每六个月进行一次的那种变更。而这一次，是一次由志愿者节点运营商参与的试运行。

Monero价格约为550美元：周高点563.50，周低点525

截至周日中午，Monero的价格约为550美元。一周以来波动不大：根据CoinPaprika的数据，七天的涨幅约为0.4%。在这周内，空间还是有的。XMR在10月3日创下周高点563.50美元，在9月28日创下周低点525美元，数据基于Kraken的日线图。这两个点位之间相差约7%。

按市值计算，Monero是第十四大加密货币。从其在2026年1月创下的自身记录来看，当前价格距离高点约31%。考虑到欧洲大型受监管的交易场所已多年未上市该币种，这一跌幅相当微小。

The fork date itself is not reflected in the price, which is reasonable: testing the network will not generate revenue and will not change supply. Anyone trying to find a response to the announcement this week will find nothing.

Detailed explanation of FCMP++: From 16 decoders to the entire blockchain

FCMP++ stands for Full-Chain Membership Proofs. This is a cryptographic program that allows the sender to prove that the amount spent came from a specific set of early revenue payments without revealing which one.

Currently, Monero uses ring signatures. When you send XMR, your wallet mixes the actual input payment used with the other fifteen payments in the blockchain. Observers will see sixteen possible sources and cannot determine which one is the real one. This 16-size criterion has existed for years and is a known weakness: Anyone who gathers enough additional knowledge can eliminate candidates and narrow them down.

FCMP++ replaced this loop with a proof for the entire chain history. In the future, an output will be one of more than 150 million options, covering almost all payment outputs created in Monero's history. The extra knowledge investigators used today to narrow down the ring's range thus lost the point of attack because there was nothing to narrow down.

Carrot: Impact of addressing protocol changes on existing Monero addresses

Carrot is the second component of the package and deals with how Monero addresses are constructed. It is a new addressing protocol that, according to developers, brings additional attributes of security, privacy and usability while remaining backward compatible with existing addresses.

Backward compatibility here means that the address you store somewhere today (for example, on a service that pays you XMR) is expected to still work properly after this change. This is currently good news for holders, as changing receiving addresses between multiple services is one of the most error-prone operations.

The principle behind FCMP++: A single output should not disappear into 16 options, but into millions of options.

Detailed explanation of stress testing network v3.0: Cold and hot wallet, Transaction Relay v2 and RandomX v2

According to the release notes, the v3.0 version brings three noteworthy additions to testing. The first is support for hot and cold wallet settings, in which wallets that cannot access payout keys prepare transactions and a separate device that has never been connected to the network signs them. This is also the workflow of a hardware wallet, and its availability helps determine whether the device will follow this change in the future.

The second is a greater improvement to the Transaction Relay v2 protocol, which is the way transactions are passed between nodes. The third is support for RandomX v2, which is a redesigned mining algorithm. Also included are fixes from the previous stress testnet version and updates on the status of Monero's main branch.

冷热支持恰好在此时进入测试，是整个包中最实用的细节。这是决定你在未来的主网变更后是否仍能在单独的设备上保留硬币，还是必须等待新固件的关键点。

为何官方路线图未命名主网日期

在getmonero.org的项目路线图中，FCMP++出现在“即将开展的工作”部分的“全链成员证明”下，与Seraphis代码库和Jamtis并列。那里没有日期，也没有版本号，Carrot甚至完全没有列出。

这不是疏忽，而是项目的运作方式。Monero背后没有公司、董事会或风险投资基金来强制执行交付日期。变更是在开放的开发者会议上产生的，并在审计和测试完成后发布。10月5日的压力测试网分叉是这一过程中的一个步骤，而不是发布的公告。

对你来说这意味着：FCMP++的主网激活可能在几个月内到来，也可能拖延到一年以后。现在想从中得出结论的人，是基于意图而非时间表做出的推断。附上日期的数字，在目前看来纯属臆测。

下架浪潮：MiCA和反洗钱法规如何将Monero逐出欧盟订单簿

As work at the agreement level progresses, Monero's trading venues in Europe are shrinking year by year. Binance removed XMR in Europe in February 2024, Bitpanda followed suit in the same year, and Bitvavo removed it in 2025. Kraken ended its support for Monero in the European Economic Area and converted the remaining balance that had not been withdrawn into Bitcoin after the deadline.

The number of cancellations on different exchanges varies due to different deadline. Industry statistics show that approximately 73 exchanges have removed or restricted Monero, compared with approximately 51 in 2023; the specific month varies depending on the source. The direction is clear, but the exact number should not be regarded as a fixed value.

The reason boils down to three sets of rules that work together. The crypto service provider regulations under MiCA require authorized exchanges to be able to trace the source and destination of funds. The European Union Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) has further tightened regulations on enhanced anonymity of assets. FATF travel rules require sender and recipient data to be provided when transferring money. A coin whose agreements inevitably conceal the source and amount cannot be reconciled with these obligations.

It is worth noting the separation of transaction and ownership. Owning and using Monero is legal in Germany; there is no ban. It is service providers, not holders, that are regulated. This is why the wave is hitting buying channels rather than owning wallets.

Buying Monero in Germany: The remaining options after removal

Regarding purchases from Germany, the situation is troubling. The large MiCA authorization providers typically approved here no longer list XMR. People looking for Monero will eventually have to turn to non-EU authorized trading platforms, decentralized exchanges, or atomic exchanges, where Bitcoin is purchased and then redeemed.

As centralized trading platforms that still retain XMR trading pairs, the industry overview lists KuCoin, MEXC, Gate.io, the small TradeOgre, and Kraken outside the euro zone. Each avenue has its own shortcomings: a lack of MiCA authorization for the German market, an inability to obtain Germany's complaint body, and a difficulty in assessing legal status in advance in the event of bankruptcy or hacking. If you want to compare how regulated providers in Germany work, refer to our exchange comparisons, although XMR will not be found there.

The cool conclusion to this is that in today's day and age, the way to buy Monero is the riskiest part, not the technology itself. The protocol is running and being extended. The question is which third party you get the coins through and what level of protection you receive there, which is the more difficult question.

is running determines whether you can still operate if the protocol changes in the future.

Liquidity and spreads: What a shrinking market means for your execution

When the order book disappears, the same trading spread is spread across fewer platforms. Kraken's average daily trading volume this week is between 4,000 and 9,000 XMRs per day. This is tradeable, but it does not have the depth to make large orders disappear silently.

In practice, this means two things. First, Monero's bid-ask spread differences are easier to perceive than Bitcoin or Ethereum, especially on weekends and quiet times. Second, a single larger sale will have a greater impact on prices. The 7% gap between weekly lows and weekly highs occurred without any news background, indicating that the order book was very thin at some stages.

Anyone purchasing through a market order must pay this difference immediately. A limit order you set yourself can avoid surprises, but it also loses the guarantee of a transaction.

Hosted and Wallet Version: What to check now

The forking of the stress test network has no task requirements for your mainnetwork balance. But from the perspective of reconstruction, there is one work that needs to be done. Monero typically requires updates to wallet software when network changes, and FCMP++ touches transaction structure more deeply than past changes.

So it makes sense now to understand what you are hosting. Are you using a wallet that is still receiving updates? Is your balance stored on hardware devices where the manufacturer still supports Monero? Do you have a backup of a valid recovery phrase stored separately from your work equipment? These three points determine whether a future change is an update or a problem for you. Which devices support Monero and the differences in processing and price, see our Hardware Wallet Comparison.

The second point concerns coins deposited with third parties. Monero holdings may be removed from XMR exchanges on one day, a pattern that has occurred repeatedly in the past few years: trading suspensions, then withdrawal deadlines, and finally forced conversions to Bitcoin. Anyone who moves to their own custody as early as possible can decide when.

Leverage and clearing: 20% distance at five-fold leverage

Part of the bifurcation has nothing to do with Monero itself. Volatility in many currencies rises around a dated agreement event, even if the event has no economic substance here. Anyone holding a leveraged XMR will not be liquidated by the event itself, but will likely be liquidated by the expected fluctuations that result.

This effect is greater for a currency with a thin order book. At five times leverage, at around $550, there is arithmetic about 20% to be cleared, and in Monero's history, 20% is not a big distance. This week alone has covered one-third of them.

Tax and holding period: What rules apply to XMR conversion in Germany

For holders with tax obligations in Germany, a one-year period applies to private disposal of crypto assets: holding for more than one year is tax-exempt, less than one year is taxed above the threshold. What is particularly important is that redemption is considered a disposal. If you convert XMR to Bitcoin via atomic exchange, or the exchange converts your remaining balance to Bitcoin after the deadline, this will trigger the same event as a sale.

For assets that enhance anonymity, the embarrassment is that the burden of proof is on you, and an agreement to hide the amount cannot provide the tax authorities with a convenient historical record. People who hold XMR should record acquisition dates and acquisition costs themselves rather than relying on rebuilding them later. An overview of CRYPTO tax software where such logging tools can be found. It is worth noting that tax laws for crypto assets are currently being developed; regulations that apply today may no longer apply next year.

Levels above and below: US$563.50 and 525 areas

Both ends of the week serve as observation points. Above is the weekly high of $563.50 reached on October 3; Beyond it begins the area in which the price last traded at the end of September. Below, the weekly low at $525 marks the point at which buyers stepped in on September 28, and beneath that the round level at $500.

These are observations, not targets and not a recommendation. Those two levels say nothing about where the price is heading; they only record where trading actually took place over the past days. In a market of this depth, each of those levels can be run through in a single day.

Monero and FCMP++: Summary of Points

As a holder, October 5 has nothing to do with you.

A test network bifurcates and your main network balance remains unchanged. For the main network, there is no announced date, and FCMP++ has so far only appeared as a dateless plan in the project roadmap.

Organize your trusteeship relationship without tight deadlines.

Well-maintained wallet software, the manufacturer still supports Monero's device, and separately stored backups are things that should be done before changes are made. A hardware wallet comparison shows which devices are suitable for it.

Think of the path of purchase as your biggest risk, not the technology itself.

XMR is not available at German-authorized providers, and each detour means an increase in protection costs. Anyone who wants to examine how regulated transactions work can find the criteria in exchange comparisons.

(As of October 4, 2026. This article does not constitute investment advice. Price and fee structures are subject to change; please check terms with your provider before purchasing.)