Key takeaways

• Monero has hit a new all-time high of $596 after outperforming the other major cryptocurrencies.
• XMR is currently the 12th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

XMR hits a new all-time high of $596

XMR, the native coin of the Monero blockchain, is the best performer among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap. It is up 15% in the last 24 hours and is currently trading at $573 per coin.

The privacy coin hit an all-time high of $596 during the early hours of Monday, but has slightly retraced due to the poor performance by Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies. 

XMR is up by nearly 35% since the start of the month as the Zcash developers’ crisis boosts capital rotation to Monero. If the coin crosses the $600 mark, it could rally towards a new all-time high of $640 in the near term.

The rally comes as privacy coins record excellent gains thanks to growing retail demand.  Zcash and other privacy-related assets, such as Canton, also advanced, extending gains that began in late December.

XMR could rally towards $700

The XMR/USD 4-hour chart is bullish but inefficient thanks to Monero’s violent upward movement since the start of the year. The technical indicators suggest that the coin could rally higher in the near term. 

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 80, signaling intense overbought conditions with an underlying risk of unsustainable buying pressure. 

Furthermore, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) extends the upward trend, suggesting heightened trend momentum.

If the rally continues, XMR could surge towards a new all-time high of $640, with the $700 psychological mark also a possibility in the near term.

However, if the bears regain control of the market, XMR could retest the $569 support level over the next few hours. An extended bearish performance could see XMR gain efficiency on the 4-hour timeframe at $489.