While Bitcoin, Solana, and XRP slid, a privacy coin and a stablecoin highway quietly climbed. Their paths look similar on the surface, but one chart tells a very different story underneath, and a looming price level could decide who keeps…
The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.
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Monero (CRYPTO: XMR) and Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) were the only major cryptocurrencies in the top 20 to show meaningful gains during the week. Monero’s price rose to $610.51, up 2.3%, while Tron climbed to $0.32, up 4.2%.
In contrast, most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies either declined or moved little. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 2.3% to about $75,720, and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) dipped slightly by 0.8%. Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) dropped 6.5%, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) fell 7.1%, and Hyperliquid plummeted 12.0%. Although LEO Token, Bitfinex’s exchange token, rose 1.0%, it did so on only about $307,000 in 24-hour trading volume, which isn’t enough to validate a rally.
Both Monero and Tron’s gains may seem modest compared to their recent performance. Monero has increased by 16.76% over the past month and 63.78% over the past year, so this week’s 2.3% rise is part of a broader positive trend. Meanwhile, Tron is still down 3.94% over the last 30 days.
So what could connect Monero and Tron, a privacy-focused coin and a network known for stablecoin transactions, while the rest of the market is struggling?
Both Monero and Tron Benefit From Payment Activity
Monero is a privacy coin, meaning it keeps the sender, receiver, and amount of every transaction confidential. Tron, on the other hand, acts as a blockchain that supports a significant amount of dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether’s USDT. Users pay with TRX to facilitate these transfers, while Monero allows for private payments. Therefore, the demand for both relies heavily on payment usage.
There doesn’t appear to be a single clear reason for their weekly gains, but both cryptocurrencies might be less affected by the ebb and flow of momentum trading. Since Binance delisted Monero in February 2024, it likely attracts fewer short-term traders. In contrast, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have drawn in most of the institutional money, making them the first to feel the impact when that money pulls back.
Monero’s gain can’t be credited to privacy demand alone, either. Its main competitor in this space, Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC), dropped 0.6% during the same week.
Tron’s Gain Is a Recovery From a Recent Low
Tron’s 4.2% increase might seem impressive, but it comes with context. Tron recently hit a 30-day low of $0.3028 on October 31, after peaking at $0.3521 just two days earlier. This week’s gain is a bounce off that low, and over the last 14 days, Tron is still down 2.87%.
Right now, Tron is trading below its 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages, all of which hover around $0.33, roughly 3% higher than its current price. A coin below all these averages is typically viewed as in a downtrend, meaning this week’s bounce doesn’t necessarily signal a turnaround.
Furthermore, Tron faces added pressure from regulatory action. On November 6, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight Canadian money services businesses accused of aiding Iran, and the sanctions listing names Tron wallet addresses. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial activities. More listings like this could lead exchanges to scrutinize Tron transfers more closely.
Monero Remains Above Its Averages but Below Recent Highs
Monero is currently trading above its key moving averages, which smooth the price movements by averaging closing prices over specific periods. Its 20-day average stands at $605.54, the 50-day at $572.80, and the 200-day at $431.92. This reflects a strong performance, with Monero gaining 54.52% over the past 90 days.
However, Monero fell 1.8% over the past 24 hours and is trading about 5% below its recent high of $640.02, reached on November 4, when buyers had already stepped back once. Monero’s trading volume is relatively small at $74.6 million over 24 hours compared to Bitcoin’s $12.5 billion, suggesting that modest trading activity can drive significant price shifts. Monero is also down 1.01% over the previous two weeks.
Both Monero and Tron are also closer to their all-time highs than the major cryptocurrencies. Monero is about 23.5% below its peak of $797.73 from January 14, while Tron is around 25.8% off its all-time high of $0.431288 from December 3, 2024. In comparison, Bitcoin is approximately 40% off its peak, Ethereum about 55% off, and XRP roughly 68% off.
Can Monero and Tron Sustain Their Gains Against Bitcoin?
At this point, it seems unlikely that Monero and Tron can maintain this upward momentum, at least based on current evidence. Tron’s gain is tied to a bounce that hasn’t yet pushed it back above $0.33. Monero’s ability to hold its value depends on staying above its 20-day average of $605.54, which is just under its current price and hasn’t faced a significant challenge yet.
If Tron can close above $0.33 and Monero surpasses its recent high of $640.02 while Bitcoin continues to decline, the two coins may be trading on their own timelines, potentially leading to further gains. Conversely, if Monero falls below $605.54, it’s likely that both Monero and Tron dropped less than their larger counterparts during a weak market week, and that advantage could quickly vanish when Bitcoin rebounds.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
