XMR is approaching this year's highest level as bullish momentum reinforces the expectation of breaking through 500 USD.

Monero (XMR) has maintained a solid trading momentum above the 477 USD level at the time of writing on Monday, after setting a new yearly high last week. The notable increase in bullish signals from on-chain data and the derive market, along with an increasingly positive technical structure, is reinforcing expectations that the price of XMR could break out and conquer the psychological milestone of 500 USD in the near future.

On-chain data and derivatives of Monero show a bullish trend

The Social Dominance index tracked by Santiment is sending a clear supportive signal for the bullish prospects of Monero. This index reflects the proportion of discussions related to XMR across the entire cryptocurrency media. Since mid-December, Monero's Social Dominance has continuously risen, reaching 1.41% on Monday — the highest level since November 10. This trend indicates a significant increase in market interest, while the sentiment of the XMR investor community is also becoming increasingly positive.

The Social Dominance index of XMT | Source: Santiment On the derivatives front, data from CoinGlass recorded the open interest (OI) of Monero futures contracts on exchanges surged to 99.70 million USD on Sunday, compared to 54.01 million USD on December 10, before a slight adjustment, maintaining around 95.42 million USD. The strong expansion of open interest reflects new capital flowing into the market, accompanied by the emergence of new buying pressure — a factor that could continue to reinforce the momentum for the current bullish trend of XMR's price.

Open contract (OI) of Monero futures | Source: CoinGlass At the same time, aggregated data from CryptoQuant continues to support the bullish scenario. Both the spot market and the futures market of Monero have recorded large buy orders from the whale investor group, indicating that confidence in the bullish trend is still being maintained and the potential for an upward momentum of XMR may continue in the near future.

Monero Price Prediction: Bulls Targeting Above 500 USD

The price of Monero has established a solid support zone at the Fibonacci retracement level of 61.8% — measured from the peak on November 9 at 470 USD down to the bottom on November 21 at 320 USD — corresponding to 413.04 USD on Thursday. From this price range, XMR quickly surged more than 14%, setting a new yearly high at 497 USD on Saturday. As of Monday, Monero is trading around 478.02 USD, indicating that the bullish trend is still being maintained quite positively.

In a positive scenario, if buying pressure continues to dominate, XMR could fully extend its recovery to the 141.40% Fibonacci extension level at 531.73 USD, thereby confirming a stronger growth phase in the medium term.

XMR/USDT Daily Chart | Source: TradingViewTechnically, the RSI indicator on the daily timeframe is at 69, approaching the overbought zone, reflecting the current bullish momentum very strongly. At the same time, the MACD has formed a bullish crossover since last week, with green histogram bars continuing to expand above the 0 line — an additional signal reinforcing the likelihood of the ongoing bullish trend.

On the contrary, in the event of a short-term correction, the price of XMR is likely to return to test the important support zone around 413.04 USD, which previously served as a launchpad for the recent bullish movement.

SN_Nour