Can somebody explain to me if what this guy claims is true or not, or how exactly does Monero work:
Did you even READ what Toknormal said? There is no "Hopium" as you can SEE everything done on the blockchain, you simply can't TRACE it. The Inputs and outputs are clear, Dash mixes by creating exactly the same denominations and entering them in the block chain at the same time, input = output and thus with one round, an output has 3 possible inputs. Do this once, you have the same amount of "mixing" as Monero has. But there is a possibility that the Masternode, who only gets chosen 1:4500 times, is spying, so we allow for as many rounds of mixing as you care to do. After 8 rounds of mixing, even if someone can spy with 80% of the masternodes, the likelihood of seeing where funds are is minuscule. And that's basically for the paranoid, because Masternodes are well distributed and all over the world.
In Monero, you can not see the blockchain. Inputs and outputs are obfuscated in a mess. Which by the way, how do you know there is no key to unravel? Dash does this with logic, not mathematical trickery. Who can know if there is a key to unravel a "one way encryption"? This part I may be ignorant on, but as I can't understand it, I don't trust it. They already had their system cracked a couple of years ago, with all previous transactions exposed, how do we know that won't happen again? Dash uses pure logic and statistics. With that, you can keep a transparent blockchain that can be audited to make sure it is functioning properly, that no extra coins were somehow inserted that weren't part of the rewards produced, etc... It also allows for functions where a transparent blockchain is desirable, such as charities that want to show how their funds are spent, or the Core team, who do not mix their funds, and clearly show how they are spending funds so we can see if they are trustworthy or not.
And without the transparent blockchain, without this system of Masternodes, without the budget system, there could be no Evolution. Evolution will be a completely decentralized yet easy to use system, like logging into your bank account, moving funds to different "accounts" and making payments as easily as Paypal. ALL DECENTRALIZED!!! No "3rd party service" which is what web wallets are, BTW, so know your funds are as at risk there as they are in an exchange.
Anyway, I hope this helps, if you still don't see the value, please stop shilling Monero here, you won't get anywhere with it with this audience.
Specifically interested about the part where he claims that an additional "master key" can be inserted into the protocol as a backdoor to reveal all public keys with it.
It seems like a lot of people are confusing Monero with Zcash's closed trusted setup.
Please explain.