Monero Price History

Monero first hit the market in 2014 and began trading at around $1.65. After a volatile start that briefly saw prices jump as high as $5.39, XMR fell (as quickly as it rose) and spent most of its first two years trading below $1.

2016 brought the first major price movements for XMR. At the end of August and the start of September, the price of XMR increased fivefold – from around $2.50 to roughly $13 in just a fortnight. This explosive rally was followed by a period of consolidation for the rest of the year.

In 2017, Monero experienced four more surges (each followed by periods of consolidation), with its market cap surpassing $1 billion for the first time in August. This brought XMR up to a value of around $85 per coin by the start of November. XMR then experienced its biggest rally yet, shooting up by almost 450% over the next two months and rocketing to an all-time high of around $480 in January 2018. At this point, Monero had a market cap of over $7 billion.

The gains would not last, however, as the price quickly crashed back down. Over the next month, XMR experienced forceful downward pressure, shedding around 60% of its value. This was followed by a series of lower highs and lower lows, and by the end of 2018 XMR was worth less than $50.

XMR made steady gains in the first half of 2019, only to lose them again over the second half of the year. Interestingly, XMR ended the year at pretty much the same price it had been at the start of 2019.

2020 brought moderate success – although the price of Monero fell in March, including a more than 40% crash in a single day, it had mostly recovered by August. After a minor dip at the start of September, XMR made steady gains for the rest of the year. Monero ended 2020 at $156 per XMR, which represented a 240% increase since the start of the year.

This trend continued into 2021, with XMR price rallying over 80% in less than a fortnight in February to reach a peak of $270.

Analyzing Monero Price History

Monero, like many other cryptocurrencies, tends to follow what’s known as a boom-and-bust cycle. This is a pattern in which growing excitement leads to a sudden surge in price before doubt and disillusionment set in – causing an equally sudden crash.

XMR failed to make any significant gains for its first two years on the market, which may have been influenced by the destabilizing effect on the overall crypto market caused by the bankruptcy faced by the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange in 2014.

Trading volume began to increase in 2016, and Monero’s growth that year appears to have been at least partially driven by its enthusiastic adoption amongst users participating in illicit activities on darknet markets. Criminals were certainly not the only ones using XMR, of course – financial anonymity should be incredibly important to anyone transacting online (or anywhere, really). Simply put, anonymity keeps you safe.

At the start of 2017, Monero improved upon its privacy features even further by introducing a cryptography algorithm called ‘ring confidential transactions’. These types of transactions pack the ability to obscure the amount of XMR being transferred. This made XMR even more attractive to crypto users wanting privacy and likely contributed to the gains made by Monero that year.

The biggest surge for Monero came at the end of 2017 and wasn’t unique to XMR – the entire crypto market pumped around that time on the heels of Bitcoin’s 2017 bull run. The crash that followed was also common across many other coins and not unexpected since such a sharp increase would have been very difficult to sustain.

In 2018, a paper analyzing the traceability of Monero was published which highlighted some potential vulnerabilities of the blockchain. This was likely a major contributing factor to the decline of XMR price that year.

In 2020, Monero was affected by some of the movements in the broader markets. XMR’s huge single-day drop in March came as economies and borders were closing down around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of this was felt by the whole cryptocurrency sector and the entire stock market, which experienced the biggest single-day crash since 1987.

The gains made by XMR in August and its dip in September of 2020 were also common across many other cryptocurrencies, as was its renewed rally at the end of the year and start of 2021 on the back of Bitcoin’s latest bull run.

Factors Influencing The Price of Monero (XMR)

A variety of different things can affect the Monero price, including project news and developments, the flow of assets on exchanges, public sentiment, and emerging trends in the wider cryptocurrency and global economies.

The circulating supply of XMR is expected to reach 18.4 million in May 2022. After that point, Monero will continue to emit 0.6 XMR per block infinitely in a process known as “tail emissions” to continue incentivizing miners. As Monero doesn’t have a capped max supply, its price isn’t driven by scarcity like that of Bitcoin, and this inflation could put downward pressure on the market if demand doesn’t scale to meet the growing supply.

The biggest driver of Monero’s price is its level of adoption. As more people turn to XMR, whether for conducting less-than-legal activities or simply to enjoy the peace of mind that comes along with privacy, demand for the coin increases and its price goes up.

The response of government regulators could also have an impact on the future price of XMR. Some exchanges have delisted Monero over money-laundering concerns, and without places to trade Monero, there would be nothing to drive its price. Also, the IRS has contracted blockchain analysis firms to try and trace Monero transactions. Should they succeed, XMR users would likely turn to a different privacy coin unless Monero could swiftly update any vulnerabilities.

Live Monero Value and Market Cap

The live Monero value varies from moment to moment as it’s dictated by the balance of buyers and sellers on exchanges, which is in constant flux. 

Given Monero’s volatility, its live price can change by a large amount in a very short space of time. The market cap of Monero is equal to the price of XMR multiplied by the number of XMR in circulation.

Monero Price FAQ

How is the price of Monero calculated?

Monero’s price at any given time is decided by the balance of supply and demand on exchanges. When more people are buying XMR than selling it, the price goes up, and when more are selling than buying, the price goes down.

Why is the price of Monero different on different cryptocurrency exchanges?

Monero’s price is based purely on trading as there is no standard global Monero price, so no one knows what it is “supposed” to cost. The trading volume and liquidity are different for each exchange and those differences are what affects the price.

What will Monero be worth in the future?

It’s impossible to make future price predictions with any kind of certainty as a whole host of different factors could influence XMR price in the future. If more people turn to privacy coins in the future, Monero will likely experience growth, but this could be hindered if regulators and law enforcement push back against XMR.

Conclusion

Monero’s market value has changed dramatically since its launch in 2014, going from being worth less than $1 to over $475. Its price journey so far has shown a healthy amount of volatility, with plenty of surges and crashes along the way to take advantage of.

The price of XMR has been largely driven by its level of adoption as an anonymous form of payment. However, the inflation rate of XMR’s circulating supply, general crypto market conditions, and trends in the wider economy also play a role in determining its value. 

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