The cryptocurrency from the confidential coin sector, Monero (XMR), entered the top 20 largest by market capitalization on May 26, according to Coinmarketcap, ahead of blockchain projects Litecoin (LTC), Toncoin (TON), and Polkadot (DOT).
From its local low in April 2025, around $170, the price of XMR rose by almost 250% by May 26, trading at around $417 per coin. According to information from the beginning of the year, XMR quotes have risen by more than 110%, which is the second best result among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies after the token of the platform for creating memecoins on the BNB Chain — Four (FORM), which rose in price by more than 600%. The growth range of the remaining 98 coins was up to 50%, with Bitcoin quotes rising by about 17% since January 1.
The absolute maximum for XMR was recorded at $518 in 2021, while last year the coin was in the $120–170 range.
The History of XMR
Unlike Bitcoin, where transactions remain transparent and potentially traceable, Monero provides complete anonymity. The project uses cryptographic methods to guarantee security and prevent transactions from being traced. Monero does not simply hide transfer amounts and addresses — it makes transactions completely invisible to third-party observers. This allows users to make payments without the risk of being de-anonymized.
The Monero blockchain is known for running on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, also used in the Bitcoin blockchain, where the network is powered by the computing power of specialized hardware. This distinguishes XMR from most modern solutions that use Proof-of-Stake, where blockchains are secured by locking native cryptocurrencies, as is the case with Ethereum and Solana.
The technical documentation for Monero was prepared by Nicolas van Saberhagen (probably a pseudonym) in 2013. The blockchain itself was launched in 2014. From the outset, the project was positioned as a solution to the privacy problem that Bitcoin was said to lack.
The Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency was created based on the ByteCoin token blockchain, developed in 2014. ByteCoin is the first cryptocurrency to use the CryptoNote protocol. This protocol includes mechanisms that make the blockchain completely anonymous.
Monero is one of the few crypto projects that are developed by volunteers or through community donations. One of the founders of XMR is considered to be Riccardo Spagni, who was arrested by US law enforcement agencies in 2021 on charges of fraud amounting to $100,000 between 2009 and 2011, when he worked for the South African company Cape Cookies. He was released from custody in the same year.
Cost of confidentiality
Monero has become a kind of cult cryptocurrency in the blockchain technology segment, providing anonymity for transactions. There was an episode in the project's history when, in 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service offered $625,000 to companies seeking to hack Monero's confidentiality. The government subsequently entered into agreements with Chainalysis, a company that tracks data across various blockchains, and Integra FEC, a company that conducts forensic data analysis. However, there are still no documented ways to hack Monero.
Nevertheless, Chainalysis itself acknowledged that XMR is not popular among criminals — according to the company, attackers are increasingly returning to Bitcoin as their primary cryptocurrency due to growing liquidity issues with Monero.
This thesis was also voiced by crypto detective ZachXBT, pointing to the reason for the tens of percent rise in XMR prices at the end of April — the analyst noted that the growth occurred against the backdrop of the conversion of $330 million in Bitcoin into XMR coins.
All reports of XMR transactions linked to crimes refer to third-party services where criminals exchanged cryptocurrencies for other assets. Due to its anonymity, financial regulators in various countries are introducing bans on its circulation.
As a result, many major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, have had to delist Monero. This happened after the intergovernmental anti-money laundering organization (FATF) required all cryptocurrency exchange services to comply with CFT (countering the financing of terrorism) and AML (anti-money laundering) procedures. Due to the peculiarities of Monero's architecture, it is impossible to comply with these requirements.
