Less coins in circulation than Bitcoin (18.4mil vs 19.7mil)

Less inflation rate than Bitcoin (3 coins/10min vs 3.125 coins/10min)

Riccardo didn't create Moneros Cryptonote protocol and isn't even involved with Monero anymore (Not that it even matters. It's FOSS. You don't have to trust anyone.)

Yes, you verify by running a node exactly like you would do to verify Bitcoin

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