Monero (XMR) has continued with its performance as it reclaims its position as the leading privacy currency over Zcash. This happened only after a day when the UAE banned this type of currency from being part of their financial market.
Monero Surges As UAE Makes Privacy Coin Illegal
The XMR token has taken its place as the most highly valued privacy coin after its price rallied explosively to set a new all-time high in the market. This is despite the announcement of the ban of privacy tokens in Dubai only some hours ago.
According to market intelligence service Santiment, the token rose over 44% over a week and a half, even reaching a peak just shy of $657. The data service observed that even though the token has strong momentum, traders should be tracking social market data.
📈 Monero’s +44% surge over the past 8 days led to a $608 all-time high. If you are looking for an entry point, consider doing so after social hype and FOMO wears off slightly. The privacy sector has been a breath of fresh air these past 3 months, with $XMR now in the forefront… pic.twitter.com/fsmS0u9dlr
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 12, 2026
They shared that privacy-based assets have been performing better than the entire crypto market over the last three months. Monero stood out as the top asset while others slowed down.
In contrast, the Zcash token saw a decline after the departure of its core development team due to a disagreement with its board. This created some doubt about the future upgrade of the token. Thus, the token dropped by about 15% in a single day, negating some of the progress made.
According to analysts, the rally followed an extended period of accumulation when prices gradually increased while major cryptocurrencies were finding themselves in tight ranges.
Technically, the asset has broken above the multiyear resistance level that previously limited the incremental progress since the last cycle in the financial markets. The momentum indicators are currently reflecting the kind of environment seen during the previous phases of expansion.
It means the current trend could continue, provided the Monero price remains above the resistance level. Various market research firms have pointed towards the growing global requirement for financial privacy as another key trend that the new year will witness leading up to 2026.
Peter Brandt Compares XMR to Silver
Respected trader Peter Brandt compared the token’s structure to a historical silver breakout. According to his analysis, both of these markets created two peaks over a period of time. Ultimately, silver broke above that level and created an expansion candle that started the beginning of a major move.
Although Brandt did not put forth a concrete target price for Monero, the analogy implies that perhaps the early stages of this type of structural breakout could still be underway.
Even with a new record price, the dominance strength is considered relatively small compared to the previous cycle peaks. This is seen as a sign that there is room for growth.
