Monero hit an all-time high earlier this week, and crypto sleuth ZachXBT thinks he knows why

Monero's native token, XMR, recently achieved an all-time high, rallying nearly 80% to $797.73 from a low near $450. Onchain investigator ZachXBT suggests this price surge was partially driven by an attacker converting stolen Bitcoin and Litecoin into Monero via instant exchanges following a $282 million hardware wallet social engineering scam on January 10, 2026. ZachXBT pointed to several suspected wallets consolidating the stolen BTC and moving LTC, noting the transfers coincided with Monero's peak. While details of the theft are unclear and the flagged addresses are not publicly labeled, the stolen assets were also sent to Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin via Thorchain. This event occurs as privacy coins like Monero gain attention, despite some regions moving to restrict them, with industry figures advocating for privacy as a core blockchain property.

(Source：The Block)