Activity in the Monero (XMR) network remains elevated despite numerous delistings from leading exchanges and increased regulatory pressure. According to a study by TRM Labs, transaction volumes in the network exceed levels seen before 2022. Moreover, nearly half of the new darknet markets in 2025 chose Monero as their sole payment method, indicating sustained demand in high-risk segments.
This is reported by Business • Media
“Despite delistings from exchanges and increased regulatory pressure, activity in the Monero network remains higher than levels seen before 2022.”
Trends in XMR Usage and Volatility
In 2024–2025, transaction volumes involving Monero significantly increased compared to 2020–2021. This underscores stable demand rather than just short-term speculative spikes. Over the past year, more than 70 platforms have removed XMR from their listings, including exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Huobi, and Bitstamp. As a result, liquidity has shifted to offshore and less compliance-oriented platforms.
At the same time, according to analysts, 48% of new darknet markets in 2025 operate exclusively with Monero. However, most ransomware payments are still made in Bitcoin, as this asset provides the highest liquidity. Meanwhile, Monero exhibits volatility that is 2.5 times greater than that of Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past 30 days, indicating a thin market and fragmented trading structure.
As of February 2026, XMR is trading at $332, remaining one of the most discussed coins in the private cryptocurrency sector.
Node Anomalies and Privacy Threats
A separate area of research focuses on the functioning of the Monero P2P network. It has been found that about 14–15% of nodes exhibit anomalous characteristics, particularly in messaging processes, “handshake” mechanisms, node list composition, and infrastructure concentration. It is important to note that not every anomaly is malicious; however, such concentration can affect the distribution of transactions in the network and the overall level of anonymity.
According to experts, Monero’s cryptographic mechanisms remain robust, but the network dynamics are becoming increasingly significant for users’ actual privacy. This means that while the blockchain itself provides a high level of anonymity, node behavior can impact the practical aspects of data protection.
In September 2025, the Monero network experienced an attack that reorganized 18 blocks, prompting additional scrutiny of the infrastructure’s security. However, by January 2026, XMR reached a new all-time high, with the coin’s price rising to just below $600 and daily trading volume increasing by over 243%. Experts believe this was driven by discrepancies in the Zcash project and the overall recovery of the cryptocurrency market.
Daily chart of XMR/USDT on KuCoin. Source: TradingView.