Monero Pierces $680 ATH as Capital Flees Zcash; Dubai Ban Ignores Market Signal
XMR defies a Dubai ban and EU headwinds to hit $680, driven by capital rotation from Zcash and record open interest.
Monero (XMR) shattered its eight-year resistance today, piercing $680 to print a new all-time high. The privacy coin has decoupled from the broader market, logging a 46% weekly gain while regulators in Dubai and the EU tighten the noose on anonymous transactions.
The Privacy Premium
Liquidity is aggressively rotating. While Zcash (ZEC) falters amid developer turmoil, XMR has absorbed the capital flight, posting a 24% intraday candle. Market data confirms the squeeze: CoinGecko reports volume spiked as open interest hit $172.4 million, signaling both retail conviction and institutional leverage chasing the breakout.
The rally defies a hostile macro backdrop. Yesterday, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) formally enforced a total ban on privacy coins, a move mirrored by the EU’s upcoming Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) scheduled for 2027. The market’s response? A counter-intuitive repricing of censorship resistance.
Financial privacy is becoming increasingly important. We are seeing a growing investor realization that transparent chains expose them to existential risks.
Former Monero lead maintainer Riccardo Spagni noted the shift in sentiment, aligning with on-chain data from Santiment showing social dominance at record peaks. The thesis is simple: as the regulatory net closes, the premium on true fungibility increases.
Institutional Outlook
The divergence between price action and policy is stark. While compliance-heavy assets stall, XMR’s surge to $680 suggests the market is pricing in a “prohibition premium.” Traders are eyeing $720 as the next technical extension, though the $650 support level remains the invalidation point for this parabolic leg. Volatility is guaranteed; liquidity on centralized exchanges is thinning as users withdraw to self-custody.
