Monero (XMR) Surges Amid $282M Social Engineering Scam

The anonymity features of

allowed attackers to obscure transaction details and exploit its lower liquidity, resulting in a .

Analysts highlight the risks of low liquidity and the potential for tighter regulatory scrutiny on privacy coins

.

Monero (XMR) surged to $800 on January 14, 2026, due to a $282 million social engineering scam targeting a hardware wallet. Attackers used instant exchanges and cross-chain protocols like THORChain to rapidly convert stolen

and into . Monero's anonymity features, such as its ability to obscure sender and recipient addresses and transaction amounts, made it an ideal asset for laundering stolen funds .