Monero news

A criminal group calling itself iamnotavillain has demanded a $3 million Monero ransom from fintech firm Revolut, threatening to sell customer data if not paid within 24 hours. The group claims to have obtained sensitive information, including identity documents and transaction records, for hundreds of customers. Revolut has stated it has not received direct contact from the group. The group allegedly selected targets by using blockchain analysis to identify Revolut accounts with large crypto holdings. The breach reportedly stemmed from fraudulent information requests sent via a compromised Italian government email domain. Affected data includes names, addresses, passports, selfies, and full transaction histories, with at least 680 accounts impacted. Revolut describes the incident as a sophisticated external impersonation scam and maintains that funds and systems were untouched.

Hackers demanding $3 million in Monero (XMR) are threatening to sell stolen Revolut customer data if the payment is not made within 24 hours, according to the Financial Times. The group, calling itself 'iamnotavillain,' posted the demand with a countdown clock, requesting 6,000 XMR. At least 680 customer accounts were affected, with exposed data reportedly including identity documents and transaction histories. The hackers said they used blockchain analysis to target Revolut accounts with significant crypto holdings. The breach occurred after attackers, posing as government officials, passed Revolut's checks, leading the company to hand over records before discovering the fraud. Revolut has stated that its systems and customer funds were unaffected, and no negotiations had occurred at the time of publication.

Five altcoins broke out in mid-August, with four carrying September catalysts. Zcash (ZEC) surged past its November 2025 high after a spot ETF debut on August 25, now facing a key resistance at $903 and a community vote on September 14. Monero (XMR) rallied 26.5% on native THORChain swaps but lacks a dated catalyst, testing the $538 Fibonacci level. Hyperliquid (HYPE) faces a $1.2 billion token unlock on September 29, with historical post-release declines suggesting a pullback toward $70-76. Uniswap (UNI) saw record burn funding in August, but a Senate vote on the CLARITY Act in mid-September could stall its breakout. Solana (SOL) improved its chart after validator approval of SIMD-0550, with Transaction V1 activating September 9, yet network fees fell 44% quarter-over-quarter, creating a fundamental divergence. The September calendar is tight, with key events on the 9th, 14th, mid-month, and 29th. Four of these five altcoins have dated catalysts, while Monero's path depends on market flow rather than a specific event.

THORChain released version 3.20 on August 25, enabling native swaps for Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) directly against Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. This eliminates the need for centralized exchanges or wrapped tokens, with transactions remaining self-custodial. The upgrade also introduced Protocol-Owned Liquidity and a Stable Reserve for fee-free stablecoin swaps. In response, XMR surged approximately 8.9%. The integration, described as one of THORChain's most complex technical efforts, was demonstrated live in May 2026. While liquidity for the new pools is expected to be thin initially, the Protocol-Owned Liquidity feature aims to bootstrap depth. This development provides a crucial alternative for privacy coins, which have faced increasing delistings from centralized platforms like Binance, OKX, and Kraken due to regulatory pressure.

Grayscale launched the first US spot Zcash ETF (ZCSH) on NYSE Arca on August 25, 2026, converting its nine-year-old trust. The fund, holding about $304 million in ZEC custodied by Coinbase, charges a 2.50% fee directed to ecosystem development. Following the listing, ZEC surged 66% to an eight-year high above $850. The approval came amid a regulatory paradox: the SEC proposed tighter rules for most digital assets in August 2026, yet cleared the privacy coin ETF. Zcash's opt-in privacy architecture, unlike Monero's default privacy, allowed the fund to use transparent addresses for custody, satisfying compliance requirements. Shielded transactions now account for ~90% of network activity. The article notes Zcash's market cap overtook Monero's in 2026, and Grayscale positions ZCSH as a hedge against AI-driven surveillance of transparent blockchains. Key watch items include early trading volume, shielded pool growth, and potential Monero ETF filings.

A newly created wallet deposited $3.56 million in USDC on Hyperliquid and opened a leveraged long position on 36,000 Monero (XMR) tokens, valued at roughly $14.33 million. The trade uses about 4x leverage, with take-profit targets set between $475 and $516, implying an expected rally of 20-30% from entry prices of $395-$400. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain flagged the activity on August 10. XMR has gained nearly 10% over the past week, trading between $393 and $402. The trade follows a similar but smaller whale position earlier in 2026. As Monero faces delistings from major centralized exchanges due to privacy concerns, decentralized perpetual platforms like Hyperliquid are increasingly absorbing XMR volume, shifting price discovery to synthetic markets.

A suspected laundering operation that moved part of a $120.2 million USDT haul into Monero drove the privacy coin up 27%, from $330 to $420, according to on-chain investigator ZachXBT. The buyer's large orders were visible on thin order books, with over $17.5 million sent to KuCoin and $8 million to instant exchanges. The price spike acted as a public alarm, highlighting how large-scale laundering in privacy coins can be costly and detectable due to shallow liquidity. Tether froze $72 million of the linked funds within 30 seconds of detection, but the entity moved roughly $48 million out of reach, paying a premium for Monero's privacy. The incident follows a similar April 2025 case where a $330 million theft fueled an XMR rally. Monero was trading near $380, up 10% in 24 hours, after hitting an intraday high of $475.

Monero usage has remained stable despite major exchange delistings, with transaction levels in 2024 and 2025 exceeding pre-2022 figures, according to TRM Labs. The report also notes that 48% of newly launched darknet markets in 2025 support only Monero, a significant increase from earlier years. Researchers found that 14-15% of Monero nodes exhibit unusual behavior, potentially allowing observers to glean transaction origin clues through network propagation, though on-chain cryptography remains intact. In response, Monero released the Fluorine Fermi update in October 2025 to improve peer selection and protect against 'spy nodes' that may link transactions to IP addresses.

Monero's XMR price rose nearly 10% to $335.66 on Tuesday, following a TRM Labs report highlighting its resilience and growing use in privacy-focused markets despite major exchange delistings. The report notes on-chain activity in 2024-2025 remained stable and above pre-2022 levels, with 48% of new darknet markets in 2025 being XMR-only. The report also revealed that 14-15% of Monero's reachable peers displayed non-standard network behavior, which could subtly affect privacy assumptions despite strong cryptography. While ransomware payments still favor Bitcoin due to liquidity, Monero's sustained demand reflects a core user base prioritizing privacy amidst regulatory pressure.

Laura Walter, founder of Crypto Tax Girl, warns that 2025 will be one of the most complicated years for crypto tax reporting due to new IRS regulations. The introduction of the 1099-D form requires taxpayers to match self-reported data with exchange data, and the IRS's shift from a universal to a wallet-by-wallet accounting method reduces tax flexibility. Many individuals will need to recreate their entire transaction history to calculate cost basis accurately. Using privacy coins like Monero increases the burden of proof during audits due to lack of transaction history. Crypto transfers between wallets complicate reporting compared to traditional assets, and exchanges are now required to include cost basis information. Tax strategies such as HIFO accounting and loss harvesting can help defer taxes, while mining and staking rewards are generally taxed as income. The proposed Digital Asset Parity Act aims to simplify reporting, including a de minimis exception for small transactions.