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

Monero Triggers Retail Alert That Preceded ZEC And DASH Drops As Privacy Coin Hype Returns

In a recent interview, Aaron Arnold of Altcoin Daily broke down his crypto 
market outlook for 2026, drawing parallels with past market cycles and 
outlining bull, base and bear scenarios.

Bull, base or bear? Three possible paths for crypto in 2026

Speaking on the What Bitcoin Did podcast, Strategy chairman Michael Saylor 
pushed back against criticism of companies issuing equity or debt to buy 
Bitcoin.

Michael Saylor pushes back on criticism of Bitcoin treasury companies

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree on Friday, legalizing 
the existence of crypto banks. First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the 
National Bank, Alexander Yegorov, stated that the first institution of this 
kind might appear in six months. Belarus Opens to Crypto Banking With 
President Lukashenko’s Latest Decree Belarus is taking action to […]

Belarus Moves to Legalize Crypto Banks, Kickstarts Hybrid Financial System

Recent allegations regarding the Bitcoin (BTC) sale by the US Marshal Service 
(USMS) — operating under the Department of Justice (DOJ) — have been addressed 
by White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt, who confirmed that the digital 
assets forfeited by Samourai Wallet and its founders have not been liquidated. 
DOJ Confirms Samourai Bitcoin Will Not Be Sold In a post on social media 
platform X (formerly Twitter), Witt clarified that the DOJ has verified that 
the digital assets taken from the Samourai Wallet will not be sold, in 
accordance with Executive Order 14233. He emphasized that these assets will 
remain on the government&#8217;s balance sheet as part of the Strategic Bitcoin 
Reserve. Related Reading: Bitcoin And Crypto ETFs Set To Attract $130 Billion- 
Plus Inflows This Year, JPMorgan Predicts Earlier in the month, speculations 
suggested that the USMS, following directives from the DOJ, had sold 
approximately 57.55 Bitcoin forfeited in the Samourai Wallet case through 
Coinbase Prime on November 3, 2025. The lack of confirmation until now had led 
experts to assert that such actions would violate EO 14233, signed by 
President Donald Trump. This order mandates that Bitcoin obtained through 
criminal or civil forfeiture be retained and added to the US Strategic Bitcoin 
Reserve, rather than being sold off. The Bitcoin in question is valued at 
almost $6.4 million and was seized from the creators of Samourai Wallet. 
According to US authorities, the cryptocurrency mixer facilitated over $237 
million worth of illicit transactions. Samourai Wallet&#8217;s Co-Founders Face 
Justice The DOJ had announced in November the sentencing of Keonne Rodriguez 
and William Lonergan Hill, the co-founders of Samourai Wallet. Rodriguez, the 
company&#8217;s CEO, and Hill, its Chief Technology Officer, were implicated in a 
conspiracy involving the operation of a money transmitting business that 
“knowingly” transmitted proceeds from criminal activities. Related Reading: 
XRP Will Skyrocket Beyond $18: Analyst Suggests 800% Growth Potential In 2026 
The criminal proceeds laundered through their platform originated from various 
illegal activities, including drug trafficking, darknet marketplace 
operations, cyber intrusions, fraud, murder-for-hire schemes, and even a child 
pornography website. Rodriguez received a five-year prison sentence, while 
Hill was sentenced to four years. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading 
at $95,300, marking an almost 6% increase over the past seven days. However, 
it is still unable to regain the key $100,000 level, which has eluded the 
cryptocurrency since November last year. Featured image from DALL-E, chart 
from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in THB