Monero (XMR), a leading player in the privacy coin sector, hit a new all-time high on January 13, with spot prices soaring to $690, once again bringing the topic of privacy coins into the spotlight.

Since January of last year, XMR has surged from around $200, with a total increase of 262%. During a period when most mainstream altcoins were in a slump, this rally stood out. Interestingly, this surge occurred precisely when global regulations were tightening.

Due to compliance requirements, major platforms like a leading exchange had already delisted XMR spot trading. By January 12, the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) explicitly announced a ban on the trading and custody of privacy tokens across Dubai and free zones. What happened next? Instead of suppressing XMR, the ban ironically fueled its new high, making it a sarcastic response to regulators.

It’s strange—despite shrinking exchange liquidity and the tightening regulatory fists, where does XMR’s upward momentum come from?

**Exchanges are no longer the place where prices are decided**

Although the market looks hot, the driving force isn’t actually coming from exchanges.

Looking at spot trading volume, recent XMR transactions have rebounded somewhat with the market, but they still hover in the range of a few tens of millions to $200 million, with no signs of extraordinary volume. Historically, the most significant spot trading volume was on November 10, when it reached $410 million. Comparing this, the current trading volume isn’t particularly remarkable.