XMR Price Jumps 10% After New Report on Monero’s Shadow Market Dominance

The XMR price climbed nearly 10% on Tuesday following the release of a new report by TRM Labs highlighting Monero’s resilience and growing adoption in privacy-focused markets despite delistings from major exchanges. The research sheds light on the increasing use of Monero in high-risk environments, including darknet marketplaces, while also revealing subtle network-layer behaviors that could influence real-world privacy assumptions. Monero’s Shadow Market Growth and Network Insights Drive XMR Price Surge As of this writing, XMR was trading for $335.66, up by nearly 10% in the last 24 hours. Monero (XMR) Price Performance. Source: TradingView According to TRM Labs, Monero’s on-chain transaction activity remained broadly stable in 2024–2025 and consistently higher than pre-2022 levels. This trend persisted despite restrictions from leading platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Huobi, which have increasingly limited access to XMR due to regulatory and traceability concerns. “Despite exchange delistings and enforcement pressure, XMR activity on Monero remains above pre-2022 levels,” TRM Labs noted. According to the firm’s research: 48% of new darknet markets in 2025 were XMR-only. Most ransomware payments still occur in BTC — liquidity matters. 14–15% of Monero peers show non-standard network behavior. Monero’s cryptography remains strong, but network-layer dynamics can influence real-world privacy assumptions. The report emphasizes that Monero’s resilience is not primarily driven by casual retail trading. Instead, it reflects a core user base that actively seeks privacy-preserving transactions, even when faced with higher friction, fewer on-ramps, and reduced liquidity. Transaction volumes in 2024 and 2025 were materially higher than in early 2020–2021, indicating sustained demand rather than sporadic, speculative spikes. Monero Transaction Volumes Between 2020 and 2025. Source: TRM Labs This stability is particularly notable given that, according to some...