Monero (XMR) is growing in popularity among crypto users, often surpassing capitalized cryptocurrencies in user preferences. In June, XMR became the first to dethrone Bitcoin (BTC) on a gift card payment platform, signaling this change in behavior.
especially, Coin Card The platform reported data on the percentage of transaction volume of each cryptocurrency used for payments in June. The gift card service has been reporting this “usage breakdown” monthly since April 2023.
In particular, initial data shows a 40% dominance of on-chain BTC, followed by Monero and Ethereum (ETH) with 23.64% and 13.9%, respectively. As soon as the service listed Circle USD (USDC), the stablecoin gained market share, taking the number one spot in May 2024. In May, USDC accounted for 33.21% of trading volume, followed by Bitcoin and XMR with 30.04% and 27.58%, respectively.
In the latest report, Monero took the top spot. Coin Card Payment volume increased by 34.4% in June. BTC came in second with 25.96%, followed by USDC at 20.20%. Interestingly, all others, including ETH, Litecoin (LTC), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE), recorded less than 10% of the total volume.
Monero for payments
Similar user behavior and preferences are observed in darknet markets, with Monero being preferred over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Cointelegraph Reports suggest that billions of dollars are traded annually on these underground markets, with XMR making up a significant portion of this demand.
Analysts attribute this behavior primarily to Monero’s proven privacy-by-default properties, as well as its low fees and fast settlement times for transactions.
This practice of using XMR for payments was initially seen in darknet markets and has now expanded to clearnet markets, following a similar path to early Bitcoin. Historically, BTC first gained popularity in dark markets such as Silk Road and gained significant demand as a means of exchange. Bitcoin then established itself as a digital store of value and began to attract investors.
Bitcoin vs Monero in Network Activity
However, the Bitcoin network still validates more transactions than Monero's network. Finbold said: Bit Info Chart On July 6th, there were 658,877 Bitcoin transactions and 21,030 Monero transactions.
Still, it's worth noting that this means 587 transactions per $1 billion for BTC's market cap of $1.119 trillion, compared to 7,304 transactions per $1 billion for XMR's market cap of $2.88 billion. Overall, when weighted by each cryptocurrency's market cap, Monero processes more transactions than Bitcoin.
As Monero becomes more popular as a payment method, demand for spot XMR will increase, which could impact price. At the time of writing, XMR is trading at $156 per coin, a surprising comeback after being delisted from Binance. It often trades at a premium on decentralized exchanges, creating interesting arbitrage opportunities.
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