Monero (XMR) rose on Wednesday to a new all-time high and surpassed $797, as investors massively bought privacy coins. This surge followed a week-long rally during which XMR increased by more than 50%, making it one of the strongest performers in the cryptocurrency market.
Due to this increase, Monero's market capitalization went above $13 billion and XMR briefly ranked in the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Trading volume also rose significantly as buyers rushed to purchase XMR.
Rising demand for financial privacy
The main reason behind the rise is a strong increase in demand for financial privacy. In many large markets, KYC and anti-money laundering rules are becoming stricter. This makes it harder to trade anonymously through most blockchains.
As a result, more and more people are choosing coins that hide wallet balances, transactions, and senders. Monero is still the largest and most reliable coin in this category.
Bans and restrictions have actually reinforced this rise instead of slowing it down.
Earlier this week, the financial regulator in Dubai banned crypto exchanges in the Dubai International Financial Centre from listing or promoting privacy coins.
The European Union is also working on regulations that will ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy tokens starting in 2027.
Instead of stopping demand, these measures have led investors to quickly buy privacy coins before access becomes difficult.
Capital rotated from Zcash
Monero also received support due to issues in the Zcash ecosystem.
Zcash, the largest privacy coin competitor, lost a lot of confidence due to disputes over governance and the departure of the main development team.
As confidence in Zcash waned, capital shifted to Monero, which is seen as more decentralized and less dependent on a single foundation.
This shift has further strengthened the rise of XMR.
Monero also broke through multi-year resistance levels in the chart. After the price crossed above $600–$650, systematic traders and funds with momentum strategies also entered.
Interest on social media grew, and liquidity also increased. This created a self-reinforcing effect of purchases that drove the price toward $700.
Clarity Act drama fueled the rally
The debate over crypto policy in the US can also contribute to the privacy narrative.
The Senate amendment to the CLARITY Act aims to expand financial control, strengthen reporting obligations, and give regulators more insight into transactions on exchanges and DeFi platforms.
Although the bill does not directly address privacy coins, it does reinforce the fear that on-chain activity is becoming increasingly visible to the government.
This situation makes privacy coins more attractive, even for users who are not doing anything illegal.
Monero now has strong technical resistance around $700. After such a strong rise, short pullbacks are likely.
Yet, the underlying trend is clear: as governments exert more control and limit anonymity, the demand for financial privacy grows. At this moment, Monero is still the biggest winner.