Hyperliquid has launched XMR/USDC perpetual contracts through a permissionless deployment. This offering provides traders with leveraged exposure to Monero without requiring direct access to the spot market.
The listing occurred as Monero (XMR) reached an all-time high of $797 on January 14. This marked a significant 65% surge within the month, largely driven by an increase in demand for privacy coins.
Currently, Monero is trading around $700 and holds a market capitalization of $13 billion. This valuation positions it among the top 15 cryptocurrencies, even as it has lost spot trading access on most major exchanges.
According to Monero community contributor XBToshi, these perpetual swaps enable up to 5x leverage. This is facilitated through the Felix Protocol's HIP-3 deployment.
Derivatives Replace Spot Access
Monero's spot markets have largely vanished due to regulatory pressure and anti-money laundering concerns. These issues led to widespread delistings by exchanges throughout 2025.
On January 12, Dubai's financial regulator banned privacy tokens, including XMR, citing risks related to sanctions compliance. Major platforms like Coinbase had previously opted not to list the asset.
Hyperliquid's futures offering allows traders to speculate on price movements using derivatives. This enables trading without the necessity of holding the underlying token or relying on compliant spot infrastructure.
Following the launch of the perpetual contracts, trading volume saw a 13% increase. This demonstrates sustained interest in Monero despite the lack of spot liquidity on mainstream platforms.
Technical Momentum Builds
Some technical analysts observe cup-and-handle chart patterns, which could suggest a potential continuation of the upward trend toward the $850-$900 levels. However, these projections remain speculative.
The recent rally coincided with governance turmoil affecting the competing privacy coin Zcash. This situation may have led to capital rotation favoring Monero as investors sought alternative privacy-focused assets.
Monero's market capitalization has now surpassed that of Bitcoin Cash. However, it still remains below Cardano's valuation of $14 billion.
The current derivatives-only trading environment creates a distinct dynamic. Price discovery is occurring entirely through futures markets, rather than through traditional spot exchanges.