Headline: Monero rockets to a new all-time high as privacy narrative heats up — but the rally is largely an XMR story Monero (XMR) broke out of the broader market lull this week, hitting a fresh all-time high of $596.87 on January 12 and closing out a torrid seven-day stretch that lifted the token roughly 35% — the strongest weekly gain among the top 20 cryptocurrencies (CoinMarketCap). The advance pushed Monero’s market capitalization above the $10 billion mark for the first time, peaking near $10.6 billion (CoinMarketCap). After a modest pullback, XMR was trading around $564 at press time (TradingView). Momentum indicators show the move has been aggressive: the daily RSI was close to 78, suggesting the asset is somewhat stretched, even as trend data remained tilted toward buyers. Why XMR led the pack The rally appears to be driven by a mix of macro narratives and a sector-specific shock. Privacy coins have been in the spotlight lately amid heightened scrutiny of crypto services and growing institutional commentary favoring privacy-focused products — a theme underscored by firms such as Grayscale and Coinbase. Monero has emerged as the clearest beneficiary of that sentiment in early 2026. Meanwhile, turbulence at a key rival may have redirected capital into XMR. Earlier this week the full development team behind Zcash (ZEC) resigned after a governance dispute with the nonprofit that oversees the project. While the Zcash protocol itself was not reported to be broken, the leadership exit rattled investors and likely contributed to flows away from ZEC and toward perceived structurally stable privacy alternatives, including Monero. Former Electric Coin Company CEO Josh Swihart commented on X regarding the exit: “The terms of our employment were changed in ways that made it impossible for us to perform our duties effectively and with integrity. We’re founding a new company, but we’re still the same team with the same mission: building unstoppable private money.” Sector performance was uneven The XMR rally was largely isolated. Over the same seven-day window, ZEC and Litecoin (LTC) declined nearly 18% and about 2%, respectively, while Canton (CC) posted modest gains near 4% (CoinMarketCap/Artemis). At the category level, privacy coins rose only around 3% for the week, per Artemis data — positive, but far below Monero’s explosive move. What to watch - Price and momentum: after a strong breakout and a high RSI, XMR could see further volatility as traders take profits or new buyers chase strength. - Zcash developments: any further governance fallout or new leadership updates could keep drawing capital away from ZEC or create renewed volatility across privacy tokens. - Institutional sentiment and regulation: ongoing commentary from major firms and changes in regulatory oversight will likely continue to influence demand for privacy-focused assets. Disclaimer: This article is informational and not investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves high risk; do your own research before making any investment decisions. Sources: CoinMarketCap, TradingView, Artemis, public posts on X. © 2026 AMBCrypto (rephrased). Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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