Monero extended its August rally on Aug. 31, trading near $532.29 at 10:02 UTC and posting a 10% gain over 24 hours, while the weekly advance reached about 22%. No other top-20 altcoin matched the move. Market capitalization stood near $10 billion, and 24-hour trading volume reached approximately $240.7 million, up roughly 255% from an estimated $67.7 million the prior day.
The strongest catalyst is THORChain’s v3.20 upgrade, which is expected to introduce infrastructure for native Monero swaps alongside Zcash. The upgrade would allow XMR to move directly against assets such as BTC, ETH and stablecoins without wrapped tokens or centralized custody, a notable development because Monero has faced restrictions and delistings on centralized exchanges. However, THORChain said on Aug. 27 that the launch of XMR and ZEC trading was delayed by roughly one to two weeks while network stability was reviewed, meaning traders are currently pricing in the expectation rather than an active integration. Dexsport also added Monero to its multi-coin cashier in August, adding a real-world use case.
Trading activity was heavily concentrated. KuCoin’s XMR/USDT pair generated about $134.2 million, or 56.2% of all tracked XMR volume across 18 exchanges and 48 markets. That concentration narrows the signal from the headline volume increase and suggests participation was not equally broad across venues.
Technicals are bullish but extended. The daily RSI climbed above 84, while XMR traded roughly 39% above its 50-day simple moving average near $386. The 100-day and 200-day averages were clustered around $360 and $359. Resistance is seen at $520–$527, then $540 and $550–$560. Support sits near $500, with $486, $470–$480 and $450 as deeper levels. Monero’s tail emission creates 0.6 XMR every two minutes, or about 432 XMR per day against a circulating supply of roughly 18.8 million, keeping annual issuance below 0.9% and declining over time. If the THORChain integration activates on schedule and volume broadens, XMR could test $550–$600 in September, while losing $500 would put $480–$470 and possibly $450 back in focus.
