Key Notes
- XMR reached a new ATH of $657, surpassing the market value of ZEC’s ATH.
- The cumulative market capitalization of privacy coins has reached $21 billion.
- Santiment data shows a spike in Monero development activity.
Monero
XMR
$677.6
24h volatility:
17.4%
Market capitalization:
$12.54 billion
Flight. 24h:
$509.56 million
has been leading the privacy coin sector over the past week, with notable price momentum and development activity.
XMR hit an all-time high of $657 on January 13, with a market cap of $12 billion. The new ATH comes as the leading privacy coin saw a 46% rally over the past seven days.
Monero now tops the rankings, distancing itself from Zcash
ZEC
$403.3
24h volatility:
1.4%
Market capitalization:
$6.66 billion
Flight. 24h:
$609.50 million
which led the sector in November and remained in the lead, albeit partially, in December. ZEC is down 7% over the past 30 days and is currently trading at $399.
With the price rise of XMR, the total market value of privacy coins reached $21 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
On Monday, January 12, Coinspeaker reported that XMR’s recent momentum resembles silver’s historic rally. Veteran trader Peter Brandt highlighted the token’s descending resistance trendline, with expectations for the so-called “god candle” for Monero.
What is driving the XMR price surge?
Monero’s rally cannot be linked to the broader performance of the digital asset market over the past 24 hours. According to CMC data, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 0.6% to $3.12 trillion, while eight of the top 10 privacy coins gained bullish momentum.
According to an analysis by Santiment, XMR crossed the $600 mark while social FOMO decreased significantly since January 11.
📈 Monero’s +44% rise over the past 8 days has led to an all-time high of $608. If you are looking for an entry point, consider doing so after the social hype has dissipated slightly. The privacy sector has been a breath of fresh air over the last 3 months, with $XMR now in the foreground… pic.twitter.com/fsmS0u9dlr
–Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 12, 2026
On the other hand, XMR development activity saw a significant increase on January 2, with a sharp decline on January 10. Data from Santiment shows that project development activity regained momentum as of late January 12.
Strong development activity, similar to last week, can provide organic momentum to a project.
Additionally, Monero received $1 million in community donations in September 2025 for its development funding.
In February 2024, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, delisted Monero because it did not meet the company’s requirements.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article is intended to provide accurate and current information, but should not be considered financial or investment advice. Because market conditions can change quickly, we encourage you to verify the information for yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Wahid has been analyzing and reporting on the latest trends in the decentralized ecosystem since 2019. He has over 4,000 articles to his credit and his work has been featured in some of the leading media outlets including Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Cointelegraph, and Benzinga. Besides reporting, Wahid likes to connect the dots between DeFi and macro in his newsletter, On-chain Monk.
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