The price of Monero has experienced an increase for three straight days and is now sitting close to its peak since April 2022.
Monero (XMR), the leading privacy-centric cryptocurrency, soared to a maximum value of $216.3, demonstrating a remarkable 110% rise from its lowest point this year. Throughout the past year, it has also outshined other prominent digital currencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
A recent ruling from a U.S. court regarding Tornado Cash (TORN) has been a significant driver behind Monero’s current rally.
In late 2024, a judge decided that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had made a mistake when it imposed sanctions on the platform.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that smart contracts functioning independently cannot be regarded as “property,” countering the government’s stance. It also clarified that the immutable smart contracts powering Tornado Cash were not owned or controlled by anyone, thereby falling outside the scope of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Treasury had claimed that Tornado Cash posed a security risk by enabling criminals, including the Lazarus Group, to launder billions in illicit funds.
Following this ruling, the Treasury lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash, making it accessible to U.S. citizens.
As a result, Monero and other privacy coins saw gains, as the market responded positively to these developments. This is significant since these assets have also been under scrutiny by regulators due to their enhanced security features that ensure transaction anonymity.
This regulatory focus has affected their availability, resulting in many exchanges delisting them. Major platforms like Binance, Kraken, OKX, Coinbase, and HTX have removed Monero from their listings in recent years, with most trading now occurring on smaller exchanges like MEX, KuCoin, and Bitfinex.
The ruling regarding Tornado Cash may prompt some exchanges to reassess their stance on Monero and consider re-listing it alongside similar privacy tokens. This trend is also reflected in the rises of related cryptocurrencies like Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), and Horizen (ZEN).
Technical Analysis of Monero Price
The weekly chart indicates that the price of XMR has been gradually climbing over the past few months, moving from a low of $102 in February last year to $215.
The cryptocurrency remains significantly above the 50-week Exponential Moving Average, a bullish indicator. Monero has also established an ascending channel along with a small doji candlestick pattern. Oscillators like the Stochastic RSI and Momentum are trending upward.
Given these trends, the price is likely to continue its upward trajectory in the coming weeks. A breakout above the upper boundary of the ascending channel could see it rise further, possibly reaching $290, which marked its highest swing back in April 2022.