Monero (XMR) surged to a new record high on Wednesday as its price rose above $797 and investors bet on privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. This rally concluded a week-long surge that increased XMR by over 50%, making it one of the strongest performers in the crypto market.
The surge pushed Monero's market capitalization above $13 billion, placing it among the top 15 cryptocurrencies. Trading volumes also rose as buyers sought to capture gains.
Increased demand for financial privacy
The most important driver behind the rise is a strong increase in demand for financial privacy. Around the world, authorities are tightening KYC and anti-money laundering regulations. As a result, it has become harder to conduct anonymous transactions on most blockchains.
This is causing more users to choose coins that hide wallet balances, transaction amounts, and sender identities. Monero remains the largest and most proven option in this category.
Paradoxically, bans and regulations have driven the rise rather than stopping it.
Earlier this week, Dubai's financial authority banned exchanges in the Dubai International Financial Centre from listing or marketing privacy coins.
The EU is also preparing rules that will ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy coins starting in 2027.
These decisions increase demand. Investors are rushing to buy privacy coins before access becomes more restricted.
Capital has left Zcash
Monero has also benefited from problems within the Zcash ecosystem.
Zcash, which is Monero's closest competitor among privacy coins, lost momentum after governance disputes and the development team left the project.
As trust in Zcash declined, investors moved to Monero, which is seen as more decentralized and less dependent on a single foundation.
The growing interest further propelled Monero.
Monero also broke through multi-year resistance levels on the charts. After Monero surpassed the 600–650 USD range, systematic traders and momentum-focused funds also entered the market.
Interest surged on social media and liquidity followed. This created a buying spiral that pushed the price toward $700.
The drama surrounding the CLARITY Act drove the rise
Discussions around crypto regulations in the U.S. are also strengthening arguments for privacy.
The Senate's revised version of the CLARITY Act would increase surveillance and tighten reporting requirements. Regulators would gain broader access to transaction data on exchanges and DeFi platforms.
The law does not directly target privacy coins, but it increases fears that transactions will become more visible to authorities.
This makes coins with better privacy more attractive even for users who do not intend to conduct illegal activities.
Monero is now facing strong technical resistance around $700. Short-term declines are likely after the rapid rise.
But the trend is clear. As authorities tighten regulations and reduce anonymity, demand for financial privacy increases. Right now, Monero is the biggest winner in the market.
