Monero (XMR), one of crypto’s most established privacy-focused assets, has exploded higher to start 2026, delivering one of the strongest moves in the market over the past few days. Monero is built around private, censorship-resistant transactions, using cryptography to obscure wallet balances and transfer details on-chain. That privacy-first design has kept XMR in its own category for years, often moving independently from large-cap altcoins when narrative-driven momentum returns. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Score Hits Level Seen Only 7 Times In 6 Years – A Rare Historical Signal Since the beginning of the year, XMR has surged from roughly $410 to nearly $799, a near-vertical move that reflects both aggressive demand and a rapid shift in trader attention toward the privacy coin sector. The breakout comes after similar sharp rallies in names like Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH), which also experienced explosive upside followed by fast pullbacks. Zcash climbed to around $750 before reversing toward the $400 zone, while Dash ran to roughly $120 and later dropped to near $35. Those moves set the tone for a volatile privacy coin rotation, where price action tends to accelerate quickly once momentum enters the sector. Now, with Monero leading the pack, the market is watching whether this rally can establish higher support levels, or if it becomes another short-lived spike driven by crowded positioning and thin liquidity. Retail Hype Signal Flashes As Monero Extends Its Breakout Monero’s surge is now starting to show the same “retail frenzy” footprint that appeared earlier in other privacy coins, raising questions about how sustainable this move really is. A trading frequency signal—often associated with crowded participation and late-stage chasing—previously lit up in Zcash and Dash near their local tops, before both coins reversed sharply. In Zcash, the retail-heavy activity spike aligned with a push to roughly $698, and the price has since slid back to around $442, a drawdown of about 37%. Dash followed a similar pattern. The trigger appeared near $120, before the market cooled off aggressively and dragged the price down to the $57 zone. A decline of roughly 52%. Now, the same signal is flashing for Monero. The retail-frequency threshold appeared around $714 as XMR traded deep into its parabolic advance. That matters because these setups often reflect emotional participation, where buyers enter late, liquidity thins, and volatility increases sharply. This doesn’t guarantee an immediate top, but history suggests a clear risk: once retail demand becomes dominant, the rally can become fragile. The bigger question is whether Monero can absorb profit-taking without breaking structure—or if it repeats the same post-spike unwind seen in ZEC and DASH. Related Reading: Bitcoin Reclaims $97K As Long-Term Holders Supply Stays Locked XMR Surges Into Parabolic Territory Monero is showing one of the strongest price trends in the market. The weekly chart is now moving into a clear parabolic expansion phase. After spending much of 2024 in a slow accumulation range, XMR gradually built a base and repeatedly defended higher lows. This has set the stage for the subsequent breakout. Once Monero reclaimed the $200 area, momentum accelerated sharply, and buyers began to absorb sell pressure without allowing deep pullbacks. The chart shows a clear bullish structure. With price holding above rising moving averages and using them as dynamic support during each consolidation phase. This type of price behavior usually reflects sustained demand rather than a single short-lived spike. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bulls Take Control: Futures Positioning Turns Bullish for First Time Since October However, the most notable development is the latest impulse candle. We saw the price surge into the $700 zone with almost no overhead resistance. These kinds of vertical advances often signal aggressive market participation and can lead to a volatility expansion event. Price either continues trending higher or enters a sharp correction after exhaustion. From a market structure perspective, the key is whether Monero can hold above previous breakout zones near $500–$600. If buyers defend those areas, the uptrend remains intact. If not, a deeper retracement could unfold quickly. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
ECC's CEO, Josh Swihart, claims the team was forced to leave because of changes that made their work untenable.
In this week’s Crypto Long & Short Newsletter, Carter Feldman writes that the bear market makes this a prime moment for privacy coins, signaling growing user demand for true financial autonomy. Then, we dive into Ethereum with Andy Baehr’s “vibe check” – when ETH rallies, it may signal something larger is afoot.
According to market snapshots, Zcash rose about 30% in a 24-hour span, moving from roughly $272 to a peak near $355. The coin has been up more than 40% in the last week. The token’s gain outpaced all other top 50 coins by market cap during the same window. Volume spiked at the same time, showing traders piled in quickly after a single social post touched off the move. Related Reading: XRP: The Catalyst For ‘Humanity’s Greatest Shift’ By 2030 —Analyst Influencer Posts Spark Buying Based on reports on social media, the rally was partly driven by traders reacting to a bullish post from Arthur Hayes on X. Contributors on platforms like Binance Square flagged the post, and one user known as AB Kuai Dong said an endorsement by what he called a “legendary Silicon Valley investor” pushed people into the market. Vibe check $ZEC to $10k pic.twitter.com/tBc0WaxzZ1 — Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 26, 2025 Another poster, Clemente, who is listed as a board member at treasury firm K9Strategy, said they joined the trade because they felt “so much FOMO I couldn’t keep myself sidelined.” These bursts of hype pushed more orders onto the books and helped lift the price in a short time. Past Calls Have Moved Markets Hayes has prompted market moves before. At a Tokyo conference in August 2025, he predicted Hyperliquid’s HYPE token could climb 126 times over three years. That call produced a modest market response then — roughly a 5% uptick for HYPE — but it showed how a single forecast from a well-known figure can sway trader behavior. Market participants say such calls sometimes lead to brief spikes and sometimes to longer trends. Follow-through, depth of liquidity, and general demand all matter. Privacy Tokens See Renewed Interest Reports have disclosed that Zcash rallied close to 500% over the last 30 days and crossed a $5 billion market cap on Sunday, according to CoinMarketCap data. At the same time, Monero, the largest privacy coin by market cap, ticked up about 3.2% to trade near $345 and remains restricted on many big exchanges, highlighting differences in access and regulatory pressure. Technical Indicators Show Choppy Momentum According to a recent Zcash price outlook, ZEC is forecast to rise about 52% and reach $558 by November 26, 2025. Current technical indicators are flagged Bullish, while the Fear & Greed Index sat at 51, a neutral reading. Related Reading: XRP Sparks Bullish Frenzy As Top Software Dev Says It Beats ETF Hype Over the past 30 days Zcash posted 19/30 green days, which is 63%, and showed 37% price volatility. Those numbers point to strong recent momentum but also to a bumpy ride. Some gains may hold if new buyers arrive and liquidity tightens; other gains could fade quickly if selling pressure appears. Based on reports and the data above, the Zcash move highlights how social signals can trigger rapid trading flows. The numbers are eye-catching. Still, traders and observers will be watching whether demand deepens or the rally is a short-lived reaction to hype. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
The new CEO, Josh Swihart, has been the vice president at Electric Coin for nearly five years but recently took a four-month stint away from the firm.