Monero (XMR) Hits New All-Time Highs, But Experts Warn of FOMO Entries

While Zcash once attracted attention, interest has returned to Monero as privacy becomes strategically valuable.

Monero (XMR) has risen sharply and managed to attract new attention from traders, even as much of the broader crypto market continues to struggle for direction.

The new all-time record was predictably achieved with high FOMO from the audience.

XMR steals the show

Several privacy-focused cryptocurrencies have performed well over the past three months. Monero now appears to be leading the sector as other rivals fade into the background. According to Santiment, XMR’s rally was strong. But the analytics company said that investors looking for new entry points may want to wait out the social hype and fear of missing out on convenience.

The rally has continued since then, as XMR rose nearly 20% to around $677 in the past 24 hours, pushing its monthly gain above 62%. This is Monero’s highest price level in about eight years, having surpassed the previous high set in early 2018. Market participants say the move reflects a broader rotation into privacy-linked assets, which have shown strength since late last year.

While Zcash (ZEC) dominated attention in the fourth quarter, interest has steadily returned to XMR. However, experts also warn that privacy coin trading remains concentrated on a smaller number of offshore exchanges as many regulated platforms do not list them, which could increase volatility in the future.

Vikrant Sharma, founder and CEO of Cake Wallet, said the upward trend is driven by its core focus on financial privacy. In a statement to CryptoPotatohe explained that Monero is different because privacy is built in by default, something rare among crypto assets as governments expand surveillance.

The director added:

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“As governments expand AML, KYC and on-chain monitoring, Monero’s technology is being validated. Regulatory pressures and delistings have reduced speculative access, but they have strengthened the belief among users who really need censorship-resistant money. The recent price action suggests that markets are beginning to value privacy itself as a scarce and strategic financial asset.”

ZEC sale

Its rival, Zcash, on the other hand, has taken a different turn. The privacy coin saw a sharp sell-off after all members of the Electric Coin Company resigned over a governance dispute. ECC CEO Josh Swihart said the decision followed “constructive” dismissal by Bootstrap’s board.

However, the move does not mean a departure from Zcash. Swihart said the developers are setting up a new company and will continue to work within the Zcash ecosystem. Shortly after stepping down, the team announced plans to develop a new Zcash wallet, known internally as cashZ, which uses the same Zashi code base. He said the focus remains on the ZEC ecosystem, but has no plans to introduce a new token.