Monero (XMR) experienced its largest pullback in two months, dropping from a local high of $420 to as low as $321 within a 24-hour period due to heavy profit-taking. This 23% retreat followed an impressive run where Monero's price surged over 150% from its lowest point in April to its recent peak. The pullback, which occurred without any specific negative news catalyst, is viewed as a natural correction after an overbought phase.
Despite this sharp decline, signs of cooling sell pressure emerged, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) pushing back to the 50% level and prices recovering to the mid-$340s. Monero has historically endured even steeper corrections during bullish runs, including 50% to 70% dips in past cycles, which frames the recent pullback as relatively moderate.
On-chain data from CoinGlass indicates continued investor optimism, with net outflows of XMR tokens from exchanges to self-custody wallets totaling over $5.3 million in the last three days. The futures market also shows positive signs: Monero's funding rates hit multi-week highs, and open interest nearly doubled this week to $54 million, signaling increased demand from derivatives traders.
The price correction has brought renewed focus on the April Bitcoin heist where stolen funds were laundered via Monero, complicating investigations due to XMR’s privacy features. The recent sell-off and profit-taking may offer law enforcement a delay window to trace these funds, although the mixing of stolen XMR with other holdings on exchanges poses challenges.
Technically, Monero remains above crucial moving averages (50-day and 100-day EMA) and is forming a bullish hammer candlestick pattern, often signaling a potential rebound. Investors appear to still find Monero attractive below the $400 level, though questions remain about whether it can sustain momentum toward new all-time highs or gain broader mainstream exchange support.