Monero (XMR) rallies after suspected Bitcoin (BTC) exploit and laundering

Monero (XMR) rallied hard, a price move unexpected of a vintage altcoin, possibly linked to a BTC exploit and fund laundering. The former privacy coin expanded on expectations it may be brought back to major exchanges. 

Monero (XMR) rallied on expectations of being brought back to major exchanges. Previously, XMR skipped several opportunities of a bull market, due to a campaign of delistings against privacy coins. 

XMR rallied by over 24%, the highest range in the past 12 months. XMR climbed to $286.04, as the price went vertical in the past day. The rally arrives after months of sideways trading and dips close to the $120 range. 

XMR is now back to its levels from April 2022, recovering from the years of the bear market. The privacy coin briefly peaked above $316, adding up to $1B in market value overnight. XMR also turned into one of the most overbought assets, suggesting the price expansion may be short-lived.

The XMR asset has been largely forgotten since the last bull cycle, mostly due to being excluded from centralized markets. The new rally revived expectations of revisiting four-digit prices and lining up among blue chip crypto coins, as during previous bull markets.

The rally is highly unusual, happening at a time of extremely low sentiment for altcoins. Other coins and tokens from previous bull markets are still hovering near their lower range. The altcoin season index sank even lower to 16 points, with XMR being the big exception.

Did a hack cause the XMR rally?

According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, the recent XMR rally follows an exploit that transferred 3,520 BTC out of a single wallet. 

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

The hacker moved the BTC within hours to several addresses, including the most easily available exchanges. Some of the transfers of 10 BTC were sent to the KuCoin hot wallet, one of the few exchanges with a lively XMR market. 

In a bid to hide the funds, the attacker used exchanges with a Monero market, which could anonymize the funds after withdrawal. The rapid selling by the suspected hacker also reversed the rally at its peak above $300.

Most centralized exchanges hold minimal XMR reserves after years of a highly inactive market. Reportedly, the trader used up all of Kraken’s reserves, while also tapping several other small markets. 

The XMR rally lost its liquidity at around $300, making it extremely risky for late entrants. Despite this, derivative trading for XMR picked up, with open interest rising to over $31M. The unexpected rally caused short liquidations, and traders fluctuated between short and long positions.

Monero can return as a regulation-compatible asset

The alternative explanation for the recent rally is the possibility of XMR to return as a regulated asset, compatible with major exchanges. 

One of the expectations is that the Monero network can implement a long-awaited upgrade, the EP-159. This would allow XMR to perform as a trackable asset, exposing selected wallets.

According to the Monero community, the upgrade has passed all tests and may be implemented on the main net soon. However, the time frame of bringing back XMR may be longer, and the asset may remain an anonymous coin with niche uses. 

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