Monero price hit a new all-time high of $595.96 on Jan. 12 for the first time since 2018 as privacy coins continue to gain mainstream recognition.

According to data from crypto.news, Monero (XMR), the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency by market cap, was up 18% in the past 24 hours and 59% from its December low. Trading at $575 at press time, its gains extend to over 140% from its August low.

Monero price went parabolic this week as the broader privacy-focused cryptocurrency market rebounded amid a growing privacy advocacy narrative that has been gaining strength since late 2025. In the past 24 hours alone, the total market cap of all privacy coins combined jumped 14.7%, surpassing $20 billion at the time of writing.

Companies such as Grayscale have increasingly talked about the essential need for privacy solutions as blockchain technology moves toward mainstream adoption in 2026.

Monero price also rebounded, as many investors rotated capital away from Zcash after developers at the Electric Coin Company announced a mass departure from the project. Zcash (ZEC) has since fallen nearly 20% to a weekend low of around $360. Subsequently, XMR was able to replace ZEC as the top privacy coin by market capitalization.

Data from CoinGlass further shows that demand from derivatives traders has also surged significantly during this period. Notably, Monero futures open interest has increased by 54% in the past 24 hours to $192.83 million, a figure that is substantially higher than the $66.5 million recorded exactly a month earlier.

Increasing open interest means new capital is actively flowing into the market as more traders enter fresh contracts, which in turn could fuel the current trend and drive further price volatility for the altcoin.

Monero price analysis

The daily chart shows that the Monero price has broken above an ascending parallel channel pattern that had been taking shape since August last year. This pattern occurs when an asset price exhibits a clear uptrend, forming higher highs and higher lows while being bounded by two upward-sloping parallel trendlines.

In XMR’s case, the rally could potentially extend up to $626, a level calculated by adding the channel height to the specific price at which the breakout took place.

This target looks highly probable as current technical indicators favor the bulls. Notably, the Monero price remains comfortably above the 20-day SMA, suggesting that the short-term trend remains firmly bullish and the moving average is acting as a dynamic support level.

The MACD lines have also pointed upwards after forming a bullish crossover. This means buying momentum is speeding up and is a strong sign that bulls are taking control.