Hyperliquid launched XMR/USDC perpetual contracts in a permissionless manner, allowing traders to have leveraged exposure to Monero without access to the spot market.

This listing was made as XMR reached an all-time high of $797 on January 14, coinciding with a 65% monthly increase driven by rising demand for privacy coins.

Monero is currently trading around $700, with a market cap of $13 billion, and despite losing access to spot trading on most major exchanges, it remains among the top 15 cryptocurrencies.

Perpetual swaps enable up to 5x leverage through the deployment of Felix Protocol's HIP-3, according to Monero community contributor XBToshi.

Derivatives Replace Spot Access

Due to regulatory pressure and concerns about money laundering, a wide range of exchange delistings occurred throughout 2025, leading to the disappearance of most of Monero's spot market.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority banned privacy tokens including XMR on January 12 due to sanctions compliance risks, and major platforms like Coinbase did not list this asset in the first place.

Hyperliquid's futures product allows traders to bet on price fluctuations through derivatives without holding the underlying token directly or relying on regulated spot infrastructure.

Since the launch of perpetual contracts, trading volume has increased by 13%, indicating sustained interest even in the absence of spot liquidity on major platforms.

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Technical Momentum Builds

Some technical analysts point to the cup-and-handle pattern, suggesting the possibility of further gains in the $850-$900 range, although this outlook remains speculative.

This rally coincided with governance turmoil of competing privacy coin Zcash, leading investors to rotate capital into Monero as they sought alternative privacy assets.

XMR has currently surpassed the market capitalization of Bitcoin Cash, but still falls short of Cardano's $14 billion valuation.

The dedicated derivatives trading environment creates a unique structure where prices are formed solely through the futures market rather than traditional spot exchanges.

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