Monero is trading near $596 inside an ascending channel, while open interest in XMR derivatives has reached a record. The last comparable leverage build-up came before a steep sell-off in January. The eventual break out of the $572 to $625 range is likely to be faster and wider than the recent grind, according to the source.
Monero (XMR) is trading near $596 on the daily chart, and its open interest in futures and perpetual contracts has risen to the highest level in the token's history. Coinglass recorded $377 million on October 30, above the January peak that came just before Monero lost roughly 66% of its value in about 20 days.
XMR price is pinned between $572 and $625
Since mid-October, every push above $620 has met sellers, with wicks reaching toward $660 on two occasions before price closed back lower. The market cap stands at about $11.2 billion, and the token is down a little under 1% on the week.
The trend structure remains intact, however. The 50-day EMA sits at $557.64, above the 200-day EMA at $457.52. The daily RSI reads 54.60, under its own average of 59.68, which means buying pressure has cooled since the late-October highs without handing control to sellers.
Leverage now exceeds the January top
Open interest climbed from roughly $190 million in mid-October to $377 million on October 30, nearly doubling in two weeks while the XMR price moved only modestly higher. In January, Monero set its all-time high near $798 on January 14, while open interest peaked at around $345 million.
Today the dollar value of open contracts is higher while price is about 25% lower. As a result, traders hold a considerably larger number of coins in leveraged positions than they did at the peak.
What a break of the range could trigger
Open interest alone cannot show which side is crowded. According to the source, the eventual break out of the range is likely to be faster and wider than the slow grind of the past two weeks.
If persistently positive funding shows that longs dominate, a daily close below $572.90 could set off long liquidations like those in January, exposing the 50-day EMA at $557.64 and the $519.24 retracement. A daily close above $625 on rising volume would instead put pressure on short sellers, and a squeeze could carry XMR to $659.64.
Source: Crypto News Flash
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