hats is happening with monero forking? what is changing
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Sources: r/Monero, r/Patcheddit, r/MiyooMini +7 more
Monero is undergoing a significant hard fork that has sparked considerable debate within the community. Here’s a succinct guide to what’s happening and the key changes and concerns:

Main Changes and Features
Public View Keys: Monero is moving towards implementing public view keys, which will allow users to optionally disclose their transaction history for auditing purposes. "I did not know that we were getting public view keys."

CARROT Address Scheme: This new address scheme is part of the changes to improve user experience (UX) for hardware wallets and enable auditability. "Monero is on track to implement optional transparency features such as outgoing view keys with the next hardfork (see CARROT address scheme)."

Removal of Ring Signatures: The hard fork will also see the community moving away from ring signatures, a core privacy feature of Monero. "I did not know that we were moving away from ring signatures."

Community Concerns
Fungibility and Two-Tier System: Many users are concerned that optional transparency will destroy the fungibility of Monero by creating two tiers of coins: "clean" (view-key scrutinized) and "suspicious" (non-explainable). "This is the end of XMR fungibility."

Loss of Plausible Deniability: The ability to easily disclose transaction history could remove the technical shield that currently protects users from demands for transaction data. "The refusal to share a key will no longer be seen as a technical limitation, but as active obstruction."

Compliance and Government Pressure: There is fear that optional transparency will eventually become mandatory due to pressure from regulators and compliance teams. "Once the technical ability to expose transaction history exists, institutions will be pressured to use it."

Developer and Supporter Perspectives
UX Improvements: Some argue that the new features will improve the user experience, especially for hardware wallets. "The UX improvements for cold/view only wallets are massive."

Technical Reasons: Developers state that the changes are for technical reasons and potential UI/UX improvements, not to appease regulators. "I claim we didn't have regulators in mind when making view keys stronger, but technical reasons and potential for UI/UX improvements for Monero users."

What to Do
Stay Informed: Users are encouraged to keep up with the latest developments and discussions. "Use subreddit search with either 'Carrot' or 'FCMP' as search term."

Prepare for the Fork: Users should be aware of any necessary steps to take with their wallets and seed phrases. "Do you have to do anything with your seed phrase?"

The Monero community is divided on these changes, with strong opinions on both sides. Users are advised to understand the implications and prepare accordingly.