Monero

Felix

Hyperliquid

Trillion

<a href="https://yellow.com/asset/hype" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Hyperliquid</a> launched <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/xmr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XMR</a>/<a href="https://yellow.com/asset/usdc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">USDC</a> perpetual contracts through a permissionless deployment, offering traders leveraged exposure to Monero without requiring spot market access.
The listing arrived as XMR <a href="https://www.kraken.com/prices/monero" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reached</a> an all-time high of $797 on January 14, capping a 65% monthly surge driven by increased privacy coin demand.
Monero currently trades around $700 with a $13 billion market capitalization, ranking among the top 15 cryptocurrencies despite losing spot trading access on most major exchanges.
The perpetual swaps <a href="https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/monero-xmr-usdc-perpetual-swaps-unveiled-by-hyperliquid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">enable</a> up to 5x leverage through Felix Protocol's HIP-3 deployment, according to Monero community contributor XBToshi.
<h2 id="derivatives-replace-spot-access">Derivatives Replace Spot Access</h2>
Monero's spot markets have largely disappeared following regulatory pressure and anti-money laundering concerns that prompted widespread exchange delistings throughout 2025.
Dubai's financial regulator banned privacy tokens including XMR on January 12, citing sanctions compliance risks, while major platforms like Coinbase never listed the asset.
Hyperliquid's futures offering allows traders to speculate on price movements through derivatives without holding the underlying token or requiring compliant spot infrastructure.
Trading volume increased 13% following the perpetual contract launch, demonstrating sustained interest despite the absence of spot liquidity on mainstream platforms.
Read also: <a href="https://yellow.com/news/x-bans-crypto-reward-apps-kaito-drops-20-as-platform-fights-ai-spam" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">X Bans Crypto Reward Apps: KAITO Drops 20% As Platform Fights AI Spam</a>
<h2 id="technical-momentum-builds">Technical Momentum Builds</h2>
Some technical analysts point to cup-and-handle chart patterns suggesting potential continuation toward $850-900 levels, though such projections remain speculative.
The rally coincided with governance turmoil at competing privacy coin <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/zec" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Zcash</a>, which saw capital rotation favoring Monero as investors sought alternative privacy-focused assets.
XMR has now surpassed <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/bch" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin Cash's</a> market capitalization but remains well below <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/ada" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cardano's</a> $14 billion valuation.
The derivatives-only trading environment creates a unique dynamic where price discovery occurs entirely through futures markets rather than traditional spot exchanges.
Read next: <a href="https://yellow.com/news/ripple-commits-dollar150-million-as-lmax-integrates-rlusd-across-dollar82-trillion-trading-platform" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ripple Commits $150M As LMAX Integrates RLUSD Across $8.2 Trillion Trading Platform</a>

Hyperliquid Lists Monero Perpetuals As XMR Hits $797 All-Time High

Table of Contents

Yellow News

Other articles published on Jan 16, 2026

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!