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What Is MWC?

MWC (MimbleWimble Coin) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that implements the MimbleWimble protocol, a blockchain design first proposed in 2016 by an anonymous developer using the pseudonym Tom Elvis Jedusor (Voldemort's French name in Harry Potter), who placed the original MimbleWimble white paper on a Bitcoin research channel and then disappeared. The protocol's security was formally verified in the 49-page mathematical proof "Aggregate Cash System: A Cryptographic Investigation of Mimblewimble" by Fuchsbauer et al., published in 2018. In a 2016 podcast, Bitcoin core developer Peter Wuille noted that implementing MimbleWimble in Bitcoin would be difficult and suggested it was best deployed as a separate chain. MWC launched its mainnet in November 2019 as a fork of Grin, created in February 2019 to deliver a scarce, privacy-preserving digital currency with a capped supply.

The MimbleWimble protocol provides privacy through several mechanisms. Confidential Transactions hide transaction amounts using cryptographic commitments, so observers cannot see how much value is being transferred. The protocol has no addresses stored on the blockchain; instead, transactions are constructed interactively between sender and receiver. CoinJoin with Confidential Transactions and signature aggregation is built into the protocol at the base layer, merging multiple transactions together and eliminating intermediate transaction outputs through a process called cut-through. This makes it difficult to trace the flow of funds -- even whale alerts, common on transparent blockchains, are not possible with MimbleWimble.

In January 2019, Grin and Beam both launched as MimbleWimble implementations to significant anticipation. However, both have extremely low stock-to-flow ratios, and Grin in particular has no supply cap -- a developer raised this concern on GitHub before Grin's launch but was dismissed. MWC was forked from Grin to address this with a fixed maximum supply of 20,000,000 coins: 10,000,000 to be mined via Proof of Work and 10,000,000 created in the genesis block. The genesis supply was distributed as follows: 2,000,000 to the development team, 6,000,000 via an airdrop to Bitcoin holders (with over 148,000 BTC registered during the claim period between April and July 2019), and 2,000,000 allocated to the HODL program rewarding long-term holders.

MWC uses pure Proof of Work consensus, which the development team considers a superior form of security compared to alternatives like Proof of Stake. The mining algorithm was initially inherited from Grin (using C29 and C31), but a hard fork in early 2020 removed the planned C32 and C33 algorithms and rapidly hardened the emission rate, leaving MWC as the sole coin on the C31 algorithm. This significantly increased MWC's stock-to-flow ratio relative to Grin and Beam.

In October 2019, a Bitcoin-to-MWC atomic swap was completed on testnet, demonstrating trustless cross-chain trading capability. MWC also implements multi-signature transactions, time locks, and hashed time-locked contracts, which are the building blocks of payment channels and Lightning Network. The MWC wallet supports offline airgapped transaction signing, allowing users to securely store coins on devices that never connect to the network. The development team has focused on building out wallet functionality, improving the user experience of the interactive transaction construction process (one of the main usability challenges of MimbleWimble), and ensuring the protocol's privacy guarantees remain strong.

Getting Started With MWC

  1. Step 1: Learn About MimbleWimble. Visit mwc.mw to understand the MimbleWimble protocol, its privacy features, and how MWC differs from other MimbleWimble implementations like Grin and Beam.
  2. Step 2: Download the MWC Wallet. Install the MWC QT Wallet (desktop) from the official website. The wallet handles the interactive transaction construction process required by the MimbleWimble protocol.
  3. Step 3: Acquire MWC. Purchase MWC on a supported exchange. Due to the interactive nature of MimbleWimble transactions, withdrawing to your wallet may require a different process than traditional cryptocurrencies. Follow the wallet documentation for instructions.
  4. Step 4: Understand Transaction Methods. MWC supports multiple transaction methods including HTTP/HTTPS listener, Tor, and file-based transactions. Familiarize yourself with these methods to send and receive MWC effectively.

How to Get a MWC Wallet?

MWC QT Wallet

The MWC QT Wallet is the official desktop wallet for MWC, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It provides a graphical interface for managing MWC, handling interactive transactions, and supporting multiple communication methods for transaction construction.

MWC CLI Wallet

The command-line wallet provides full control over MWC functionality for advanced users. It supports all transaction methods and can be integrated into automated systems or used alongside a full node.

MWC Mobile Wallet

A mobile wallet is available for managing MWC on the go, supporting the core send and receive functionality with a mobile-friendly interface.

MWC Resources

How to Buy MWC?

MWC is available on select exchanges including TradeOgre and Hotbit. Due to MWC's smaller market footprint compared to larger cryptocurrencies, exchange options may be more limited. Check the official website for the current list of supported exchanges.

MWC can also be obtained through Proof of Work mining using the Cuckarood29 algorithm. Atomic swaps with Bitcoin provide another decentralized method for acquiring MWC without relying on centralized exchanges.

Latest MWC News

MWC continues to develop its MimbleWimble-based privacy cryptocurrency with ongoing improvements to wallet usability, transaction reliability, and atomic swap functionality. The project maintains its focus on privacy, scarcity, and decentralization as its core principles. Development efforts have centered on making the interactive transaction process more user-friendly and expanding the ways users can securely send and receive MWC.