Monero activity rises after delistings, TRM Labs says

Resilient on-chain demand and access shifts kept Monero activity elevated

Monero’s on-chain use has remained resilient despite widespread delistings from major exchanges. According to TRM Labs, network activity across 2024–2025 stabilized above pre-2022 baselines, indicating persistent demand.

TRM Labs also notes that access patterns changed as users increasingly relied on non-custodial and peer-to-peer venues. The same research reported that 48% of newly launched darknet markets in 2025 accept only Monero, signaling concentrated privacy-driven adoption.

Elevated on-chain activity does not necessarily imply abundant tradable liquidity. With centralized off-ramps curtailed, usage and settlement can remain firm even as order-book depth weakens and spreads widen.

These dynamics suggest that Monero’s core user segments are adapting, while price discovery migrates away from large centralized venues.

What the data shows: on-chain use and darknet market shifts

Different data lenses lead to different conclusions. On-chain metrics highlight sustained usage, while exchange and fiat-bridge data emphasize liquidity constraints and shifts back to higher-liquidity assets.

“After major exchanges delisted XMR, we observed a significant increase in bitcoin inflows,” said Eric Jardine, Cybercrime Research Lead at Chainalysis. The firm’s view is that liquidity needs can override privacy preferences in some contexts.

These findings coexist with evidence of focused adoption in privacy-centric marketplaces. The result is a split picture: on-chain resilience paired with selective reversion to more liquid rails for conversion.

Delistings typically compress centralized exchange order books, reduce market-maker participation, and increase execution costs. Price discovery can fragment across OTC desks, P2P markets, and niche venues with narrower visibility.

As trading migrates to decentralized or non-custodial channels, spreads and slippage may rise, and reference prices can diverge intraday. Users also face more heterogeneous onboarding, KYC standards, and custody practices across platforms.

At the time of this writing, Monero (XMR) changes hands near $329.31, based on data from Yahoo Finance. This figure is contextual and may differ across venues and time zones.

Privacy limits and network-layer risks to watch

Monero’s protocol-level privacy features obscure senders, receivers, and amounts, but network-layer behavior can still expose metadata. Observers can sometimes infer patterns from node connectivity, timing, or routing anomalies.

TRM Labs vs Chainalysis: reconciling on-chain use and liquidity

Both perspectives can be accurate depending on the metric. One study’s higher on-chain baseline tracks usage, while another firm’s exchange-flow evidence highlights constrained liquidity and a practical tilt back to more liquid assets.

Non-standard peer behavior and potential metadata exposure

The resilience study also identified roughly 14–15% of reachable nodes exhibiting non-standard P2P behavior. Such anomalies do not break cryptography but could widen metadata surfaces under advanced observation.

Legal access typically involves compliant exchanges with KYC, though availability varies by jurisdiction and listing status. Non-custodial P2P platforms exist, but standards and protections differ materially.

Liquidity fragmentation can widen spreads and slow price discovery. Users may experience inconsistent quotes across venues, with execution quality depending on counterparties, collateralization, and dispute-resolution mechanisms.