What To Know:
- TRM Labs found that Monero network activity has remained strong and stable even after widespread delistings from major exchanges.
- Regulatory pressure and exchange removals reduced liquidity and access, but demand for Monero persisted among users who prioritize privacy and continue transacting on-chain.
- Darknet markets are increasingly shifting toward Monero-only models, reinforcing its role as a preferred privacy asset despite broader market restrictions.
The latest report from TRM Labs revealed that the Monero network has continued to show strong activity especially in 2024 and 2025, even after being removed from several major crypto exchanges. During this time, transaction volumes have remained more than the levels seen before 2022.
Monero Remains Strong Despite Delisting
Over the past two years, leading platforms have delisted and restricted Monero due to compliance loopholes related to its privacy features. Binance and Kraken among the platforms have withdrawn the crypto or scaled back support. Regulators also tightened control. Authorities in Dubai banned licensed firms in the Dubai International Financial Centre from listing privacy coins such as Monero and Zcash.
Even with these constraints, TRM Labs observed that Monero’s transaction activity has settled at a higher baseline than in earlier market cycles. Usage has remained consistent and the report suggests that Monero’s demand is driven by a specific user segment that values privacy and is willing to accept reduced liquidity and fewer on-ramps.
The shift away from centralized exchanges has reshaped Monero’s market structure. Liquidity has become more fragmented. Access is increasingly concentrated on offshore venues and lower compliance platforms. This thinner liquidity has also contributed to higher price volatility. Over recent weeks, Monero has shown sharper price swings than larger assets, which demonstrates the effects of a more limited trading environment.
Despite this reduced exchange support, on-chain activity has not contracted. TRM Labs said this resilience shows that Monero’s usage is less dependent on retail speculation and more tied to consistent transactional demand.
The report also examined Monero’s role in illegal markets. Bitcoin remains the dominant currency for ransom payments. Attackers may request Monero and even offer discounts, but victims still are likely to pay in Bitcoin due to its global availability and liquidity. Access and usability continue to influence payment decisions.
However, darknet marketplaces are shifting in a different direction. Data from 2025 shows that nearly half of newly launched markets support only Monero. Around 48% of these platforms have adopted an XMR-only model.
Monero occupies a distinct position in the digital asset ecosystem. Public blockchains have become more transparent over time. Stablecoins backed by the US dollar now dominate global payment flows and are subject to issuer controls and compliance oversight. In contrast, Monero’s design prioritizes privacy through cryptographic methods that obscure transaction details.
TRM Labs also studied the behavior of Monero’s peer-to-peer network. The research identified non-standard behavior among a portion of network participants. Around 14%-15% of reachable peers showed variations from expected protocol patterns ie., irregular handshake behavior and unusual message timing.
However, note that the findings do not indicate confirmed malicious activity. Researchers said the deviations may come from alternative implementations, outdated clients, or misconfigurations. Still, the scale and persistence of the patterns suggest a structured cause rather than isolated anomalies.
The report also highlighted infrastructure concentration within the network. A limited number of hosting environments seemed to support a large share of these non-standard peers. In peer-to-peer systems, this concentration can give more visibility into how transactions spread through the network. These observations arise from network dynamics rather than from any failure of Monero’s cryptographic design. The report points out that privacy assumptions frequently rely on uniform network behavior. Variation in how peers operate can create observable patterns that might influence theoretical anonymity under certain models. Still, Monero has been in persistent demand since 2020 and has remained stable through multiple market cycles. The crypto continues to serve a specific need for private transactions as traceability across other crypto increases.
At the time of writing, Monero was trading near $330.92 after a modest 24 hour gain. Overall, delistings and regulatory pressure have changed how users access Monero but they have not reduced the network’s underlying activity.
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