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Privacy token Monero has (finally) reversed February’s slide with the gold cross
It is said that markets typically fall quickly and rise slowly. This year’s price action of privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) is a perfect example.
XMR plunged more than 35% to $100 in early February after Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and open interest, deleted the token, saying it did not meet the exchange’s standards.
It took XMR four months to recover the slide. The cryptocurrency briefly topped $180 last week, hitting its highest since Jan. 23, and was last seen changing hands near $170 on Kraken, according to charting platform TradingView.
XMR has gained nearly 25% in four weeks, outperforming most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies in terms of market value, including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
While the exact reason for the price increase is unclear, there is a lot of talk on social media suggest the recent repression on Botnet mining in some European countries may have helped.
Botnet mining is a malicious practice that involves remotely using a compromised computer network to mine a cryptocurrency. Cybercriminals have a lot of time XMR preferred for botnet mining as its privacy features make it difficult for law enforcement to track the flow of funds obtained through botnet mining and other illegal activities.
2Miners’ recent decision, one of Major monero mining pools, which decided to stop XMR mining, may also have contributed to the rally. The miner announced XMR delisting on June 10th.
It is worth noting that although XMR has reversed its February fall, it has still failed to break out of the two-year trading range of $100 to $185. Momentum studies suggest the potential for an impending breakout.
For example, the 50-day simple moving average of XMR price broke above the 200-day SMA, confirming what is known as a golden cross. The pattern suggests a potential long-term bullish shift in momentum.