Monero has kept its on-chain activity at elevated levels through 2024 and 2025, even after being removed from major trading venues such as Binance and Coinbase. According to TRM Labs, usage remained well above pre-2022 levels, showing that exchange access has narrowed without wiping out demand for XMR.
Analysts cited in the source link that resilience to Monero’s privacy features and a user base still willing to operate with fewer exchange options. As public blockchains become easier to trace and US dollar-backed stablecoins take a larger share of global payments, Monero continues to hold a distinct place for users who prioritize privacy over convenience.
Liquidity shifts as exchange support falls
The trading side of the market has changed sharply. The source says 73 exchanges removed Monero in 2025 alone, pushing liquidity toward offshore venues or exchanges with weaker compliance standards. That has fragmented market access and reduced the number of mainstream entry points.
Lower liquidity has also made price action more unstable. Monero’s volatility is described as 2.5 times higher than Bitcoin or Ethereum. The source adds that ransomware actors may request Monero, yet actual payment still tends to happen in Bitcoin because it is easier to acquire and transfer.
Darknet market support remains a major use case
Darknet market adoption has also moved higher. Nearly 48% of newly established markets in 2025 supported Monero-only transactions, especially in platforms geared toward Western users. That trend points to a clear response to the rising traceability of Bitcoin and stablecoins, with Monero serving a narrower but persistent privacy-focused market.
Over a longer time frame, the source says Monero usage has risen substantially since 2020. Even with tougher enforcement and compliance pressure across other crypto assets, transaction levels in 2024 and 2025 stayed above the range seen in early 2020 and 2021.
Network research shows privacy is shaped by more than on-chain design
Recent studies of Monero’s peer-to-peer network identified irregular patterns that do not match expected standard protocol behavior. The report notes that real-world operational factors can affect privacy expectations, not just the on-chain mechanisms that define Monero’s design.
TRM Labs says it tracks those patterns to support law enforcement and government agencies investigating illicit activity. So while Monero continues to show durable on-chain usage, its market structure, liquidity conditions, and monitoring pressure are still shifting.