For the first time since Zcash Falls in 2021, the price of XMR has reached $500
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Monero (XMR) has surpassed the $500 mark for the first time since reaching its all-time high in May 2021.
The privacy-focused cryptocurrency briefly touched $500.66 after rising more than 6% on Sunday and 20% last week. That brought it closer to an April 2021 high of around $517.50.
Zcash fiasco sparks XMR price rally
Monero's exit was contrasted with the turmoil surrounding privacy coin rival Zcash (ZEC).
On Wednesday, the Electric Coin Company (ECC) team behind Zcash resigned en masse, citing intolerable working conditions and board disputes over the project's assets and direction.
The collapse exposed deep rifts within Zcash's leadership, particularly involving the bootstrap project and funding. ZEC's price fell more than 20% following the mass layoff, reaching a weekly low of $360 over the weekend.
Monero has received support from a wave of bullish institutional opinion.
In their latest reports, companies like Grayscale and Coinbase have highlighted privacy coins as a key growth theme, citing increased demand for financial privacy in the growing crypto landscape.
Related: Crypto Privacy in 2026: Compliance-friendly Tools Take Center Stage
With the influx of Zcash, it appeared that traders liked Monero as a pure privacy exposure.
Monero fractal shows that the rally will not last
Since January, XMR has been on the cusp of a price breakthrough, seeing a breakout from its all-time high around $517.50.
Similar breakout attempts have occurred seven times in the past, each of which failed and led to sharp corrections, ranging from 40% to 95%, to an upward trendline support.
XMR is at risk of entering a long correction process if history repeats itself, taking the price to $200-270, with an area aligned with the lower trendline support and Fibonacci retracement lines.
Conversely, a sustained break above the $500–$520 resistance would invalidate a bearish breakout.
In that scenario, XMR could follow the path of the cryptocurrency formed after several years of consolidation in 2025, leading to a rally to $775, a Fibonacci retracement line, and an all-time high this year.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this information.
