Monero hits new all-time high of $595.96 as privacy coins rally

Monero's price hit a new all-time high of $595.96 on Jan. 12, marking its highest level since 2018, according to data from crypto.news. The outlet reported XMR was up 18% in the past 24 hours and 59% from its December low, and was trading at $575 at press time. Its gains extend to over 140% from an August low, and the token "went parabolic this week" as the broader privacy-focused cryptocurrency market rebounded amid what the report described as a growing privacy advocacy narrative that has been gaining strength since late 2025.

In the past 24 hours the combined market cap of privacy coins jumped 14.7%, surpassing $20 billion at the time of writing. The report says Monero’s rebound followed a rotation of capital away from Zcash after developers at the Electric Coin Company announced a mass departure from the project; ZEC fell nearly 20% to a weekend low of around $360 and XMR replaced ZEC as the top privacy coin by market capitalization.

Data from CoinGlass cited by the article shows Monero futures open interest rose 54% in 24 hours to $192.83 million, up from $66.5 million a month earlier, which the piece says could signal new capital flowing in and potentially fuel further volatility. Technical analysis in the article noted XMR broke out of an ascending parallel channel that had formed since August, and said the rally could potentially extend up to $626 by adding the channel height to the breakout price.

Key Topics

Crypto, Monero, Privacy Coins, Electric Coin Company, Zcash, Coinglass