Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) is narrowing the market cap gap with Stellar (XLM) amid a strong bullish run.
Monero’s market cap currently stands at $7.60 billion, while Stellar’s is at $8.77 billion, a difference of just $1.17 billion, according to data retrieved by Finbold from CoinMarketCap.
Currently, XMR ranks 20th by market capitalization, while XLM holds 15th.
This shift comes amid a sustained rally for Monero, which has surged for seven consecutive weeks to reach $412 at the time of writing. XMR is up nearly 300% yearly from its lowest point in 2024.
Monero’s ascent is remarkable given the hurdles it has faced, including delistings from major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
Drivers of XMR rally
Despite these setbacks, the cryptocurrency’s performance has been driven by growing interest in privacy-centric digital assets, particularly as other privacy protocols face increasing legal scrutiny.
For instance, Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based privacy tool, continues to struggle with regulatory crackdowns and litigation. This has driven many users toward Monero, which is valued for its reliability and resistance to censorship.
Indeed, privacy is becoming a central theme in the crypto landscape, especially in light of rising cyber threats and high-profile hacks. At some point, as reported by Finbold, XMR gained $2 billion in market value in a single day following reports of users losing their crypto holdings to security breaches.
Against this backdrop, Monero remains the go-to cryptocurrency for those seeking untraceable transactions, thanks to its advanced cryptographic technologies.
Its ring signature mechanism blends a user’s transaction with others to obscure the sender, making it significantly more private than transparent coins like USDT or USDC.
Meanwhile, technical indicators suggest strong bullish momentum since XMR’s 50-day simple moving average (SMA) is $272.42, and the 200-day SMA is $212.84, well below the current price. However, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 84.19 indicates overbought conditions, signaling a potential short-term correction.
Featured image via Shutterstock
