XMR price rose nearly 10% on Tuesday after the release of a new report from TRM Labs highlighting Monero's robustness and increasing use in privacy-focused markets despite delisting from major exchanges.
The research highlights increased use of Monero in high-risk environments, including darknet marketplaces, and also reveals subtle network-layer behaviors that could potentially affect real privacy expectations.
Monero's growth in the shadow market and network insights drive XMR price increase.
As of now, XMR is trading at $335.66, up nearly 10% in the last 24 hours.
According to TRM Labs, Monero's on-chain transaction activity remained stable in 2024–2025 and was generally higher than levels before 2022.
This trend continued even after restrictions from leading platforms like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Huobi, which have limited access to XMR due to regulatory and traceability-related concerns.
"Despite delisting from exchanges and increased pressure, XMR activity on Monero remains above levels before 2022," noted TRM Labs.
According to the firm's research:
48% of new darknet markets in 2025 accepted only XMR.
Most ransom payments still occur in BTC — liquidity is crucial.
14–15% of Monero nodes exhibit non-standard network behavior.
Monero's cryptography remains strong, but network latency dynamics can affect actual privacy expectations.
The report emphasizes that Monero's robustness is not primarily due to random retail trading. Instead, it reflects a core user base actively seeking privacy-focused transactions even in the face of more friction, fewer avenues, and reduced liquidity.
Transaction volumes in 2024 and 2025 were significantly higher than early 2020–2021, indicating sustained demand rather than sporadic, speculative peaks.
This stability is particularly remarkable given that, according to some reports, 73 exchanges delisted Monero just in 2025.
As a result, liquidity for XMR is increasingly concentrated on offshore or lower-compliance exchanges, partly explaining why most ransom payments still occur in Bitcoin.
Although actors often seek Monero for its privacy features, Bitcoin remains easier to acquire, move, and exchange at scale.
Monero adoption is increasing among darknet markets
At the same time, the report also acknowledges that Monero's use in darknet markets continues to grow.
TRM Labs data shows that 48% of newly launched darknet marketplaces in 2025 now only support XMR, a significant increase compared to previous years.
This trend is particularly pronounced in Western markets, reflecting a direct response to improved tracking capabilities for Bitcoin and dollar-backed stablecoins.
This aligns with a recent BeInCrypto report that showed increasing use of XMR in illegal activities.
Beyond market behavior, TRM Labs conducted empirical research on Monero's peer-to-peer (P2P) network. The analysis found that 14–15% of available Monero nodes exhibited non-standard behavior, including:
Irregular message timing
Handshake patterns, and
Concentration of infrastructure.
Although these deviations do not indicate protocol failure or malicious activity, they highlight how dynamics at the network level can subtly influence theoretical anonymity models, even though Monero's cryptography on the blockchain remains strong.
Monero has a unique position in the crypto market. Although transparent networks and stablecoins have become increasingly traceable and regulated, Monero still offers privacy-focused functionality that appeals to users in high-risk or privacy-oriented environments.
TRM Labs' findings highlight both the strengths and nuances of Monero's privacy design. It shows that usage patterns and network behavior can practically influence how effective the anonymization protection actually is.