How does Monero prevent transaction linkage?

Monero prevents transaction linkage primarily through its use of ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions).

1. **Ring Signatures**: When a Monero transaction is made, it is signed with a cryptographic key image created from the sender's private key, along with a group of other possible signers' keys. This creates a "ring" of potential signers, making it computationally infeasible to determine the actual sender of the transaction. Essentially, each transaction has plausible deniability because it could have been signed by any one of the participants in the ring signature.

2. **Stealth Addresses**: Monero uses one-time stealth addresses for recipients, derived from their public address. When a sender wants to send Monero to a recipient, they generate a unique one-time public address for that transaction. This address is linked to the recipient's public address but is not publicly visible on the blockchain, making it difficult to link multiple transactions to the same recipient.

3. **RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions)**: RingCT is a feature that hides the transaction amount on the blockchain. Instead of showing the exact amount being transferred, RingCT allows for the creation of transactions where the actual amount is encrypted. This means that even though the transaction is recorded on the blockchain, the amount transferred remains confidential.

By combining these technologies, Monero ensures strong privacy for its users, making it difficult to trace transactions back to individual participants or link multiple transactions to the same user.