XMR98

What it is. A Windows-98-themed Monero "desktop" at `xmr98.com`. The whole single-page app renders as a Win98 desktop with icons for ten apps — Monero Swap, XMR98 Chat, Control Panel, README, Trading, Monero, Internet, Games, Help & Info, My Computer — plus sidebar widgets showing live XMR/USD price + chart, network hashrate, current block height + hard-fork version, and a Fear & Greed index. The Monero Swap app aggregates rates from Trocador with KYC-risk tags per upstream. It's a multi-feature Monero environment rather than a single-purpose service.

Background. Built by `@babysolo_` — a known Monero-community figure since 2022 with ~3,336 followers and ~726 posts at fold-time, who also runs GhostDrip (a no-KYC DCA tool) and babysolo.net. XMR98 is positioned as a creative side-project; the Win98 aesthetic is the editorial framing, not a gimmick on top of a generic shell. The app self-discloses on the splash: *"On Tor Browser it runs at the 'Standard' and 'Safer' security levels"* — i.e. Tor *Safest* mode breaks it because the desktop is JavaScript-required end-to-end.

What you trust.

• Operator carries community-tenure credibility. `@babysolo_` has been visible in the Monero space since 2022 and runs other no-KYC projects under the same handle. That's not identity verification, but it's meaningfully better than the anonymous-newcomer pattern we usually grade C tenure-zero projects at — the operator's reputation on other projects is the implicit collateral here.
• The Win98 framing is honest about what's under it. The Monero Swap app explicitly tells you: *"Rates aggregate dozens of exchanges via Trocador, each with a KYC risk rating. Your coins never touch our servers."* No pretence of a first-party swap engine. If you want to see exactly which upstream is quoting your rate, the UI shows it.
• Multi-tool dashboard rather than single-purpose pitch. Live price + chart, network hashrate, block height + hard-fork (v16), Fear & Greed — sidebar widgets that give the page utility beyond the swap. If you're using it as a daily-driver bookmark for "what's XMR up to right now", the page works as a glanceable status surface.
• Static-page architecture, no backend custody. The whole desktop ships as a single-page app from `/assets/index-*.js` + `.css`. Swap execution happens client-side through Trocador's API — XMR98 doesn't custody anything.

Operational specs.

• Site. `https://xmr98.com` — single-page Win98 desktop. JavaScript-required end-to-end (Tor Browser *Safest* mode breaks the swap flow; *Standard* and *Safer* work).
• Swap backend. Trocador (already listed at Grade A in our `exchanges/Aggregators`). XMR98 is the UI layer; Trocador handles routing + execution.
• Operator channels. X / `@babysolo_`. The operator also runs GhostDrip and `babysolo.net`; following the X handle gets you all three projects' updates.
• Desktop apps surfaced on load. Monero Swap, XMR98 Chat, Control Panel, README, Trading, Monero, Internet, Games, Help & Info, My Computer — some are functional, some are decorative-but-charming, the README documents the project.
• Sidebar widgets. Live XMR/USD price + 24h delta + sparkline chart (CoinGecko-class source, source not disclosed inline). Network: hashrate (e.g. `5.36 GH/s`), block height, fork version. Fear & Greed index pulled from a crypto-sentiment source.
• No Tor mirror advertised. No `.onion` published as of fold-time. Tor users hit the site via clearnet exits.
• No published policies. No `/about`, `/privacy`, `/terms`, or `/contact` page beyond what's inside the desktop (README + Help & Info apps).
• Donation / monetisation. Not surfaced on the splash; check the Help & Info app inside the desktop for any tip address.

Operator philosophy. The desktop framing is the point. The Win98 chrome is editorial commentary — *"Monero is a tool for adults who know what they're doing, presented in the aesthetic of an era when you actually owned your computer."* That's a different way to package the same swap-aggregator + price-ticker + network-stats combination most Monero tools ship as cleaner-looking SaaS pages. Whether the aesthetic works for you is taste; whether the operator is committed to the project is signalled by the fact that babysolo also runs GhostDrip and babysolo.net under the same handle, all with consistent editorial voice.

Grade rationale. Listed at Grade B-. What lifts it above default-C: the operator carries real community-tenure credibility through `@babysolo_`'s other Monero projects (GhostDrip, babysolo.net) since 2022 — that's a substantively different signal than a fully-anonymous newcomer. The Win98 framing is also a genuine editorial choice rather than a relabel, and the swap-backend disclosure (Trocador, named in the UI) is honest. Held at the half-step rather than full B because XMR98 itself is brand-new (the operator isn't, but this specific project hasn't accumulated yet), the desktop is JavaScript-required end-to-end with no fallback for *Tor Safest* users, and there's no first-party `.onion` mirror despite the audience overlap. Path to A: stand up a `.onion` mirror, ship a no-JS fallback or at least a graceful *Tor Safest* degradation, accumulate operating-since visibility under the XMR98 brand specifically, and earn an independent third-party review (a forum post, a kycnot writeup, or comparable).

Useful when:

• You want a Monero status page that lives somewhere on the bookmark bar — price, hashrate, block height, sentiment, all on one glanceable surface — and you don't mind that the chrome is a Win98 joke.
• You want a Trocador-fronted swap with a clearly-labelled UI that surfaces upstream KYC risk per option, packaged as one of several apps in a self-contained Monero environment rather than a standalone swap page.
• You're following `@babysolo_`'s other no-KYC Monero projects (GhostDrip, babysolo.net) and want their full toolset in one place.

Caveats.

• JavaScript-required end-to-end; Tor Safest breaks the swap. The Win98 desktop is rendered entirely client-side from `/assets/index-*.js`. On Tor Browser's *Safest* security setting (JavaScript disabled globally) the page does not render. Use *Standard* or *Safer* for the actual swap flow.
• Backend is Trocador. The UI is XMR98's; the swap engine is not. If Trocador's API changes, breaks, or removes a route, XMR98's swap stops working. Trocador's own listing (Grade A in our `exchanges/Aggregators`) is the underlying-trust surface — if you care about XMR98's rate quality, that ultimately resolves to Trocador's upstream selection.
• No `.onion` mirror. The site is clearnet-only as of fold-time. Tor users connect through exit nodes; Vercel/whichever-host sees the exit IP, not the user's.
• No published policies on the splash. Any policy text lives inside the README or Help & Info desktop apps rather than on conventional `/privacy` / `/terms` paths. Worth checking what's documented before quoting it.
• Tenure-zero on this brand. XMR98 is brand-new. The operator's 2022 tenure carries elsewhere; this specific project hasn't accumulated yet.