Monero On‑Chain Activity Persists After Mass Exchange Delistings; Network Spy‑Node Risks Identified
TRM Labs finds Monero (XMR) maintained on‑chain activity above pre‑2022 levels through 2024–2025 despite widespread delistings by major exchanges (73 exchanges in 2025 including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Huobi and Bitstamp). XMR shows elevated transaction volumes and realized volatility—30‑day realized volatility roughly 2.5× that of BTC and ETH—indicating a committed privacy‑seeking user base rather than casual traders. TRM reports nearly 48% of new darknet markets launched in 2025 are XMR‑only, reflecting stronger demand for untraceable payments as Bitcoin and stablecoins face enhanced tracing and issuer controls. Ransomware actors increasingly request Monero and sometimes incentivize XMR payments, but most real‑world ransom payouts still settle in Bitcoin due to liquidity and easier conversion. At the network layer, TRM and academic collaborators detected non‑standard behavior in about 14–15% of Monero P2P peers—anomalies in relay behavior, message timing and infrastructure concentration—that could weaken network‑layer privacy assumptions even though Monero’s protocol cryptography remains intact. In response, Monero developers released the Fluorine Fermi update (v0.18.4.3) in October 2025 to improve peer selection and steer wallets away from suspicious “spy nodes.” Key takeaways for traders: delistings have not collapsed demand but have constrained liquidity, which supports higher volatility and thinner order books; privacy‑driven use (including darknet demand) underpins baseline activity but limits mainstream convertibility; network‑layer surveillance risks and software updates can affect user confidence and node‑level privacy expectations. Primary keywords: Monero, XMR, privacy coin, delisting, spy nodes, darknet markets, Fluorine Fermi, TRM Labs.
Neutral
The news is neutral for XMR price overall. Positive aspects: sustained on‑chain activity and steady demand—particularly from privacy‑seeking users and darknet markets—support a baseline of trading interest and can prevent collapses in value. Negative aspects: mass exchange delistings (73 exchanges) materially constrain liquidity, widening spreads and lowering market depth; this increases realized volatility and makes large trades more costly and risky. Network‑layer findings (14–15% of peers showing anomalous behavior) raise privacy concerns that could deter some users and reduce demand from privacy‑sensitive institutional or retail participants. Short term: expect elevated volatility and thin order books, so price swings may be larger and liquidity events more impactful. Long term: persistent privacy demand may sustain XMR’s market niche, but regulatory pressure and limited on‑ramps keep broader adoption and deep liquidity constrained—capping upside and preserving higher volatility. Overall, opposing forces (enduring demand vs. restricted liquidity and regulatory pressure) roughly balance, producing a neutral price outlook.