Quick answer: The Monero price climbed to $607.68 on Oct. 18, 2026, and traded at $593 at 16:58 UTC, up 8.4% in 24 hours per CoinGecko. Bitcoin, Ether and Zcash fell over the same period, so XMR led the top 20 on a quiet Sunday.
The Monero price broke above $600 on Oct. 18, 2026, and hit $607.68 before easing to $593 at 16:58 UTC (17:58 Casablanca time), CoinGecko data shows. That is a gain of 8.4% in 24 hours on a day when Bitcoin, Ether and rival privacy coin Zcash all lost ground.
What happened to the Monero price?
First, XMR started the move from about $548 on Saturday evening (UTC). Buyers then pushed it to $605 by 04:00 UTC on Sunday, according to CoinGecko’s hourly data. After that, the price held most of the gain through the day.
Several market trackers flagged the same move. Phemex’s daily report put Monero first among the day’s gainers and said XMR briefly traded above $600. Coinpaper also reported a break above $600 with an intraday high near $608.
However, no single piece of Monero news explains the jump. Instead, the move looks technical. For example, U.Today had flagged $558 as the resistance line to beat. XMR then cleared it with room to spare.
XMR stood alone on a red Sunday
The gap with the rest of the market is the real story. Here is how the 24-hour change looked at 16:58 UTC, per CoinGecko:
| Coin | Price | 24h change |
|---|---|---|
| Monero (XMR) | $593.08 | +8.4% |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $80,996 | -0.2% |
| Dash (DASH) | $47.98 | -0.2% |
| Ether (ETH) | $2,364 | -1.6% |
| Zcash (ZEC) | $1,082.87 | -4.0% |
Therefore, this was not a broad privacy-coin rally. Zcash is down 11.9% in seven days and 26.8% in 30 days. Monero, by contrast, is up 9.2% in a week. Money seems to be rotating inside the privacy sector, not flowing into all of it.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is still stuck in the range it has held since it slipped below $80,000 earlier this month. That makes XMR’s strength stand out even more.
Why the Monero price move matters
Above all, volume backs the breakout. CoinGecko shows $195 million in XMR trading over the past 24 hours. By comparison, the same figure stood near $86 million a day earlier. In other words, activity more than doubled.
On top of that, the bigger trend is strong. XMR traded at $335 on July 20, its lowest point in 90 days. Today it sits about 76% higher, with a market value of $11.15 billion. As a result, Monero ranks No. 13 among all crypto assets.
Similarly, chart traders were watching before Sunday’s jump. In an X post on Oct. 6, veteran trader Peter Brandt compared several altcoin charts. “Of these, my favorite by far is XMR,” he wrote, as Bitcoin.com News and BeInCrypto reported. In short, his point was that XMR had already absorbed most of the selling from buyers at higher prices.
Still, Brandt said he judged price only, not the project. Also, he did not give a $600 target. For context, XMR traded near $561 when he posted, and it even fell to $515 on Oct. 10 before the rebound.
The risk: shrinking exchange access
Monero hides senders, receivers and amounts by default. Of course, that privacy drives demand, but it also keeps XMR off many large exchanges.
Next, the big deadline sits in Europe. From July 10, 2027, Article 79 of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation bars crypto-asset service providers from keeping accounts that allow anonymity, “including through anonymity-enhancing coins.” Notably, the rule targets platforms, not holders. Even so, it could still cut liquidity on regulated venues.
For holders, that makes self-custody more important. Our self-custody wallet setup guide covers the basics. In addition, privacy chains carry their own technical risks, as the Pirate Chain exploit showed this week.
What to watch next
Three levels and one signal matter now:
- $600: XMR needs to close days above this round number to confirm the breakout.
- $614.80: the Sept. 21 high on CoinGecko’s hourly data. A move above it would mark a new 90-day peak.
- $797.73: the all-time high from Jan. 14, 2026. XMR still trades about 26% below it.
- Volume: if trading falls back toward $90 million a day while the price holds, the move may be losing fuel.
On the other hand, the $558 breakout level is the first support to watch. If that fails, the Oct. 10 low near $515 comes back into view.
Monero Price FAQ
Why is the Monero price up today?
XMR rose 8.4% in 24 hours to $593 at 16:58 UTC on Oct. 18, 2026, per CoinGecko. The move came after a break above the $558 resistance, with trading volume more than doubling to $195 million. No major Monero news drove it.
What is Monero’s all-time high?
CoinGecko lists Monero’s all-time high at $797.73, set on Jan. 14, 2026. At $593 on Oct. 18, XMR traded about 26% below that peak.
Is Monero being banned in the EU?
Not for individuals. From July 10, 2027, the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation bars regulated crypto platforms from keeping accounts that use anonymity-enhancing coins. Holding XMR in a self-hosted wallet is not banned.
Sources
- CoinGecko: Monero (XMR) price, volume and market data
- Phemex: Crypto Market Daily, Oct. 18, 2026
- Coinpaper: XMR breaks $600 after Peter Brandt’s bullish call
- U.Today: Monero rally gains momentum
- Peter Brandt on X, Oct. 6, 2026
- Bitcoin.com News: Peter Brandt favors Monero over XRP
- BeInCrypto: Peter Brandt compares XRP, Monero and Solana
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR)
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto prices move fast; always do your own research.
