XMR surged in the last 24 hours after Monero broke above a long capped price zone. The move pushed the token into a fresh all time high area and shifted market attention back to privacy coins.
Privacy Coin Rotation and Rule Risk Lift XMR
XMR price is rising over the last 24 hours, and the move came as traders rotated into privacy coins while Monero set a new all time high. The surge unfolded during the Jan. 13, 2026 session and extended gains across several privacy focused tokens as buying followed the breakout.
Renewed focus on surveillance and privacy rules also supported the move. When regulation headlines hit, liquidity often concentrates in the most established privacy asset. That dynamic appeared this week, as attention shifted back to privacy narratives even while enforcement risk stayed in view.
Monero U.S. Dollar Daily Chart. Source: CoinCodex
Monero’s rally also tracked a jump in online attention, based on Santiment data shared by analyst NekoZ. The chart shows XMR social dominance peaking during the advance, while development activity ran lower than usual over the past week.
NekoZ said XMR gained about 44% in eight days and reached a new all time high near $657. He framed the run as Monero regaining leadership inside the privacy sector while market attention stayed elsewhere.
Monero Social Dominance and Development Activity Chart. Source: Santiment
The Santiment chart shows XMR social dominance spiking just as price extended its rally, a pattern that often appears during fast upside moves. While online discussion intensified, the price continued to trend higher, supported by rising volume and strong daily candles. NekoZ described the move as Monero reclaiming its position within the privacy sector, noting that the rally developed while attention elsewhere focused on unrelated governance issues.
XMR Breaks Long-Term Resistance on Monthly Chart
XMR price is extending a broader breakout that unfolded on the monthly chart. Monero pushed above a long-standing horizontal resistance near the mid-$600 area, a level that capped advances across multiple cycles since 2018. The move followed a steady series of higher lows, keeping the long-term uptrend intact and signaling renewed upside momentum.
XMR Monthly Chart. Source: HexaTrades
On the chart shared by analyst HexaTrades, XMR completed a multi-year ascending triangle that took more than 3,200 days to form. The pattern shows rising support meeting flat resistance, a structure that often resolves when price clears the upper boundary. Once XMR closed above that level, buying pressure accelerated, and the monthly candle expanded sharply, confirming the breakout.
HexaTrades described the move as a “multi-year ascending triangle breakout,” highlighting how compressed price action resolved after nearly a decade of consolidation. As a result, XMR entered a price zone with limited historical resistance. The clean break above the triangle suggests the market is repricing Monero after years of range-bound trading, with momentum now favoring continuation rather than retracement.
