Monero cryptocurrency (XML) saw a sharp hike of over 50% since Monday morning, prompting speculations among traders and analysts, after which crypto sleuth ZachXBT revealed that an apparent theft of over 3500 Bitcoins was responsible for the anomalous rise in price.
About nine hours ago, a huge transfer of 3,520 BTC, worth around $330.7 million, was sent to a suspicious address (bc1qcrypchnrdx87jnal5e5m849fw460t4gk7vz55g).
After hitting that address, the stolen BTC was quickly moved through several instant exchanges before being swapped for Monero (XMR). This set off a chain reaction in the market, causing the price of XMR to shoot up.
Within just an hour, XMR’s price had surged by 20%, and it went on to climb more than 50% as the funds were laundered. The sharp rise in price has definitely made people in the crypto world take notice, especially since it seems to be linked to a money laundering operation.
Privacy coins like XMR have long been a point of concern because of their use in such schemes, and incidents like this clearly show how illicit activity can trigger big price swings in the market.
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