Monero (XMR) has soared to its highest price in four years after reports linked the privacy coin to a significant crypto theft.
On April 28, blockchain analyst ZachXBT revealed a suspicious transfer involving 3,520 Bitcoin (BTC), worth about $330.7 million.
The blockchain analyst explained that the victim is a “longtime Bitcoin holder” who is likely “a Gemini, River, Coinbase, etc” user.
Following the transaction, the stolen Bitcoin was funneled through six exchanges and converted into Monero, a privacy-focused digital asset. The move highlighted the attacker’s attempt to leverage Monero’s strong privacy and anonymity features to obscure the transaction trail.
Meanwhile, this laundering activity and the low liquidity on the trading platforms triggered a sharp price rally for XMR.
Data from CryptoSlate shows that Monero ranked among the top 10 performers in the past 24 hours. The privacy coin jumped 22% to a peak of $328, a level last reached in late 2021.
At the time of writing, XMR had pulled back slightly and was trading near $267.
