The cryptocurrency market is full of opportunities and value asymmetries that keen observers can benefit from. In that respect, market cap is a powerful benchmark for tracing comparisons between competing projects and conducting fundamental analysis.
In particular, Monero (XMR), currently at $3 billion, stands out with strong fundamentals that suggest its market cap is undervalued. Monero is one of the leading contenders to gradually grab some of Bitcoin's (BTC) market share among cryptocurrencies.
The project has most of Bitcoin’s celebrated strengths and also benefits from more efficient transactions, an improved proof-of-work system that is resistant to ASIC centralization, and a battle-tested, privacy-by-default network.
At the time of writing, Monero is trading at $165.38 with a market cap of $3.09 billion, ranking it 28th. A rise to $15 billion would effectively 5x the price to $826, a new high. Interestingly, this move would require just 1% of Bitcoin's market cap of $1.2 trillion.
Leading Privacy and Cypherpunk Cryptocurrency Adopted
The cryptocurrency is often praised by grassroots communities and long-time Bitcoin supporters for its proven, private-by-default solution for peer-to-peer money transfers.
For example, in September 2020, the United States Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) offered a $625,000 bounty to a contractor who could develop a tool to help track Monero. The bounty went unclaimed, suggesting that no such tool exists.
Recently, longtime Bitcoin advocate, billionaire and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, questioned BTC’s status quo based on the fundamental vision he is interested in. Thiel cited cypherpunk, crypto-anarchist, libertarian, and “anti-central government” ideals as the core of Bitcoin’s value proposition.
“it is [BTC] Does it really work that way? Or has that thread gotten lost somewhere? When the FBI people say that it's much better for criminals to use Bitcoin than they would use a $100 bill, that suggests that maybe Bitcoin isn't working the way it was meant to. I have two reasons for this. One is that I really believe in this kind of ideological, decentralized future of the computing world. I really believe it's better, and [Bitcoin] For a long time, that seemed like the perfect solution, but I no longer believe it.”
Peter Thiel
Conversely, Monero has not only lived up to this original vision, but has also conquered markets previously dominated by BTC. Darknet markets are a clear example of adoption and use cases, but they also echo the opinions of cypherpunk influencers and commentators. Additionally, XMR is increasing its usage share and dominance in clearnet markets such as gift card crypto providers.
The War on Privacy and Monero’s Resilience
Notably, major governments around the world have declared war on financial privacy, and more specifically, Monero, through arbitrary law enforcement.
Notably, the European Union has banned anonymous payments, while the United States and the Netherlands have led enforcement actions against open-source developers, raising concerns from some known critics of cryptocurrencies.
This scenario strengthened Monero significantly, attracting even more supporters to the movement and raising its profile. Suddenly, XMR became the #1 and #2 favorite cryptocurrency for many enthusiasts, and its potential grew.
Despite being delisted from major crypto exchanges like Binance and OKX, trading of XMR has surged on decentralized exchanges like Haveno. Buyers are reportedly paying a premium to purchase Monero on these “street” markets, proving the demand for the coin.
In conclusion, XMR has a bright future within the cypherpunks and other grassroots cryptocurrency communities that once supported Bitcoin.
In a positive scenario of adoption and demand surge, Monero's price could rise dramatically, reaching a market cap of $15 billion and becoming one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies. However, for this hypothetical rise, XMR will need to overcome associated challenges such as liquidity and regulatory scope.
Disclaimer: The content of this site does not constitute investment advice. Investing is speculative and your capital is at risk when investing.
