This Under-the-Radar Cryptocurrency Is Up Big So Far in 2026. But Is It a Buy?

To most investors, Monero (CRYPTO: XMR) is invisible, but it's actually worth a look. The privacy coin is up 73% this year as I write this.

But there's a pretty big catch. The very privacy features that make Monero in demand and that could make it worth buying today are also the same factors that make it extremely risky to own.

Image source: Getty Images.

Privacy is the appeal

Most blockchains are public, including the chains of the crypto majors like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Therefore, anyone can easily trace which wallet address paid what to whom, and when.

In contrast, Monero's network hides the identities of the sender and the receiver, as well as the amount of every transaction. Importantly, that hiding is done by default, meaning that it's harder for a user to accidentally reveal themselves by misconfiguring their interactions with the network. Monero's main rival, Zcash, makes its privacy features optional to use. As of Nov. 6, only 29.2% of Zcash's supply was stored in its shielded (private) pools, so all the data about the rest is visible in plain sight for anyone inclined to look.

To better understand this same dynamic in Monero, it's necessary to dig into who uses it and why.

Research from TRM Labs, an analytics group, found in early 2026 that 48% of darknet markets selling illicit goods that were launched in 2025 accepted only Monero for payment. That illicit usage is a big part of why the coin's usage held up when the Kraken crypto exchange pulled Monero's listing in Ireland and Belgium in 2024, when numerous other exchanges delisted it in 2025, and when Dubai barred licensed companies from touching it in early 2026.

Thus, if there's an investment thesis for buying Monero, it needs to account for the fact that its illicit use, and all the problems that entails, is the main driver of its value, as it's both the source of its adoption and a form of social proof about the underlying privacy technology it employs.

Is Monero a buy right now?

Due to its use in illegal transactions, regulators want Monero and its privacy features gone, as they can't easily enforce regulations against people who use it for illegal purposes. Their attempts to ban the coin are accelerating.

Starting in 2027, the E.U.'s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation will prohibit both banks and crypto exchanges from holding or offering privacy coins like Monero and Zcash. Regulators in other regions may well follow along if they haven't already. If that happens, investors who buy Monero via a crypto exchange may be forced to sell it or, worse, be trapped with nowhere to offload their coins.

That makes it impossible to say that Monero is worth buying for most investors. It's simply too risky.

With that being said, I own Monero because I expect demand for privacy, for both benign and nefarious purposes, will continue pushing its price upward over time. But if I suspect it'll soon become impossible to offload, I'll be selling what I hold, and fast.

Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Zcash. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Monero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.