Monero (XMR) Surges 50%—Here’s What’s Fueling the XMR/USDT Rally

Privacy coin Monero (XMR) just ripped past resistance, rocketing 50% in a week—while regulators scramble to explain why they can’t track it. Here’s what’s driving the pump.

The stealth liquidity play: Whispers of institutional OTC desks stacking XMR ahead of anticipated regulatory crackdowns on transparent chains. Because nothing says ’hedge your bets’ like fungible assets that leave no paper trail.

Technical breakout: XMR/USDT smashed through its 2024 high, triggering algorithmic traders and liquidating over-leveraged shorts. The charts now scream bullish—if you ignore the fact that TA on privacy coins is basically tea-leaf reading.

The cynical take: Another case of ’buy the rumor, sell the news’ before the next G20 working group wrings their hands about ’crypto anonymity.’ Enjoy the rally while it lasts—the suits always ruin the party eventually.

With XMR prices soaring, analysts and traders were left scrambling to understand the catalyst behind the rally. As it turned out, the spike to $388 was due to a massive Bitcoin hack. An OG address lost 3,520 BTC, worth over $330 million today.

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the stash was quickly converted to XMR, triggering a supply-demand shock in the Monero market.

XMRUSDT Surging After Large-Scale Bitcoin Conversion?

Today, ZachXBT flagged a wallet belonging to a longtime BTC holder who is speculated to be actively using Gemini, River, or Coinbase to move funds.

Funds were moved to the address bc1qcrypchnrdx87jnal5e5m849fw460t4gk7vz55g, which ZachXBT identified as a theft address.

Nine hours ago a suspicious transfer was made from a potential victim for 3520 BTC ($330.7M)

Theft address
bc1qcrypchnrdx87jnal5e5m849fw460t4gk7vz55g

Shortly after the funds began to be laundered via 6+ instant exchanges and was swapped for XMR causing the XMR price to spike…

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 28, 2025

Within hours, the stolen funds were funneled through six instant exchanges and converted to XMR, a network renowned for its privacy features that obscure transaction trails.

This large-scale whale conversion of BTC to XMR created a sudden spike in demand, driving prices as high as $388. Coincidentally, even some of the hottest presales to buy in 2025 are picking up momentum.

The rapid influx of funds into the XMR market, known for its low liquidity, heightened volatility, fueling the 50% spike in valuation.

Overall, XMR markets have low liquidity following delistings by Binance and Coinbase.

Binance will delist #Monero in less than 12 hours. @binance also has Monero withdrawals halted for the past several hours citing "low hot wallet balance"

Why would they not have ALL of their XMR in hot wallet knowing their delisting schedule?

Manipulation til the last minute. pic.twitter.com/lROoduXCuS

— ᴜɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴇᴀʙʟᴇ (@DontTraceMeBruh) February 19, 2024

The only major exchanges supporting XMR are Kraken (available for non-European users) and Bitfinex.

On Kraken, the average daily volume is less than $20 million. In contrast, on average, XRP, which is available on top exchanges, posts over $500 million in daily volume on Binance alone.

Why Monero?

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Monero transactions are private by default and cannot be traced.

The platform employs features such as stealth addresses and ring signatures, which make transactions difficult for third parties to track.

These characteristics make XMR the preferred coin for users who prioritize privacy and, unfortunately, for those looking to launder funds.

In this case, the hacker’s approach of converting small amounts of stolen BTC to XMR across six exchanges shows an intent to avoid detection.

By using multiple transactions and instant exchanges, the address incurred higher fees but gained greater privacy.

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Monero Surges 50% to $388 After $330M Bitcoin Hack

• XMRUSDT spikes after a reported Bitcoin hack 
• XMR rally due to its thin liquidity after delisting from top exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase 
• Monero transactions are untraceable because it uses features like Stealth addresses and ring signatures 
• With Monero prices rallying, it underscores the crucial role of the privacy-focused network