Zano Wallet vs MyMonero

MyMonero was one of the earliest user-friendly Monero wallets. It pioneered the lightweight wallet model for privacy coins — keys stayed on your device, but a server helped scan the blockchain for you, so you did not have to download all of Monero's chain history. That trade-off (privacy from network observers; lighter on local resources) made it the go-to choice for new Monero users for years.

On January 6, 2026, the hosted MyMonero service shut down. The mobile and web wallets stopped working. Cake Wallet by Cake Labs handled mobile migration paths, allowing users to import their MyMonero seed into Cake and continue using their Monero. The desktop client was discontinued.

Funds were never at risk. MyMonero was non-custodial: your seed phrase always controlled your funds, not the service. Anyone with the seed can recover Monero in any Monero wallet — Monero GUI (full node, official), Feather Wallet (lightweight, Tor-by-default), or Cake (mobile). The funds live on the Monero blockchain, not on MyMonero's servers.

The mobile migration is handled. The web migration is handled.

What is not directly handled: desktop users who specifically liked MyMonero's posture and want a desktop wallet that feels similar — open source, lightweight, no signup, easy to set up. The desktop Monero options that exist (Monero GUI, Feather) are good wallets, but each has a different posture from MyMonero. Monero GUI is heavyweight (full node by default). Feather is excellent but Tor-first and aimed at the deeper privacy-tech crowd. Neither offers a true lightweight, server-assisted UX equivalent to what MyMonero provided.

So a slice of MyMonero's desktop audience has been looking for somewhere to go. We are not pretending to be the answer for everyone — if you want to stay on Monero, the right move is Monero GUI or Feather. But if your interest is "I want desktop self-custody for a privacy coin, with the same posture MyMonero had," and you are open to a different chain, Zano is worth considering.

Beyond being a different chain, Zano has a different feature surface that MyMonero (and Monero in general) does not address.

Privacy by default — same model as Monero. Zano descends from the same CryptoNote technology family. Ring signatures + stealth addresses + Bulletproofs+ for amount hiding. The privacy model will feel familiar to former MyMonero users. The cryptographic primitives are similar enough that the trust model translates.

Hidden-amount staking. Zano uses Zarcanum, the first PoS scheme that hides the staked amount. Monero has no staking — it is PoW only. If you want to earn yield on your privacy holdings without revealing your balance, this is a real difference.

Confidential Assets. Private stablecoins (fUSD) and other tokens with the same privacy as the base coin. Monero supports only XMR.

Aliases. Send to @alice instead of a 95-character address. Monero does not have this at the protocol level.

Atomic swaps via Zano Trade. Peer-to-peer swaps between ZANO and Confidential Assets, with no exchange intermediary. Monero supports cross-chain swaps through external tools but not natively from a single wallet to another.

Zano Wallet is not a MyMonero replacement in the strict sense — different chain, different feature set. We are addressing an audience: people who valued MyMonero's posture (desktop, open-source, no signup, privacy-first) and may be open to a different chain that offers more privacy-native features.

If your priority is staying on Monero, your move is Monero GUI or Feather. If your priority is desktop privacy self-custody and you are willing to explore a different chain, Zano is a credible destination.