Monero Usage Remains Resilient After Exchange Delistings, New Research Highlights Network‑Level Anomalies
February 17 2026
Executive summary
A recent study from blockchain‑analytics firm TRM Labs finds that transaction activity on Monero (XMR) has stayed robust throughout 2024 and 2025, despite a wave of delistings by major exchanges and stricter regulatory measures in jurisdictions such as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). While the cryptocurrency continues to serve ransomware operators, its presence on newly launched darknet marketplaces has risen sharply. The report also uncovers atypical behaviour in roughly one‑third of the network’s nodes, prompting concerns that “spy nodes” could erode the theoretical anonymity guarantees of Monero’s on‑chain cryptography. An October 2025 software upgrade, dubbed “Fluorine Fermi”, aims to mitigate these risks.
Persistent transaction volume amid exchange pressure
TRM Labs tracked monthly Monero transaction counts from early 2024 through the first months of 2025. The data shows that the number of transactions per month consistently exceeded the levels recorded before the 2022 delisting wave. This steadiness comes after several high‑profile platforms—most notably Binance and Kraken—either removed XMR from their listings or began a phased withdrawal, citing compliance and traceability concerns.
The market turbulence was amplified later in 2024 when the DIFC’s financial regulator prohibited privacy‑focused coins, including Monero and Zcash, from being offered on licensed crypto services. Yet the on‑chain activity did not dip, suggesting that user demand for private transactions remains strong even when fiat‑gateway options shrink.
Ransomware payments still favour Bitcoin, but Monero gains ground on the dark web
The study confirms that Bitcoin continues to dominate real‑world ransom settlements. Although ransomware groups occasionally request Monero and sometimes offer a discount for using it, victims overwhelmingly settle in Bitcoin, likely due to its broader liquidity and market familiarity.
Conversely, the darknet ecosystem appears to be pivoting toward Monero. In 2025, almost half (48 %) of the newly launched darknet markets that the researchers examined accepted only Monero as payment, a noticeable jump compared with previous years. This shift underscores a growing preference for privacy‑preserving coins among illicit service providers.
Network‑level irregularities raise anonymity questions
While Monero’s ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions conceal transaction amounts, sender, and receiver on the blockchain, the TRM Labs analysis looked at the peer‑to‑peer layer that propagates messages across the network. Approximately 14‑15 % of observed nodes exhibited irregular timing patterns and were clustered around a limited set of IP addresses.
The report stresses that these anomalies do not imply a breach of the cryptographic protocol. Instead, they suggest that certain operators may be running clusters of “spy nodes” that can monitor how a transaction spreads through the network. Because nodes that see a transaction earlier may infer its origin, such monitoring could compromise the theoretical anonymity of Monero, even though on‑chain data remains encrypted.
Fluorine Fermi update attempts to curb “spy nodes”
In response to the identified threat, the Monero development team released a software update in October 2025 (v0.18.4.3), nicknamed Fluorine Fermi. The patch introduces a revised peer‑selection algorithm designed to steer wallets away from potentially malicious nodes and toward a more diverse set of peers. By randomising connections and limiting exposure to clustered servers, the update seeks to make it harder for adversaries to gain early‑view advantage over transaction propagation.
The upgrade has been adopted by the majority of active wallets, although the report notes that full mitigation will depend on widespread participation and ongoing monitoring of network health.
Analyst perspective
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Regulatory resilience: Monero’s continued usage illustrates that privacy‑centric cryptocurrencies can sustain demand despite exchange delistings and jurisdictional bans. Users are evidently willing to bypass traditional on‑ramps or resort to peer‑to‑peer avenues to retain anonymity.
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Shift of use cases: While ransomware actors still lean toward Bitcoin for settlement, the surge in Monero‑only darknet markets hints at a broader migration of illicit commerce toward privacy coins. This trend could attract heightened scrutiny from law‑enforcement agencies focused on tracking illicit finance.
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Network‑layer vulnerabilities: The discovery of “spy nodes” adds a new dimension to the privacy debate. Even flawless on‑chain encryption can be undermined if an adversary can infer transaction origin from network traffic. The Fluorine Fermi patch is a proactive step, but continued research and community vigilance will be essential to preserve Monero’s privacy guarantees.
- Future outlook: Should more exchanges follow Binance and Kraken’s lead, the reliance on decentralized exchanges or direct wallet‑to‑wallet transfers will likely increase. Meanwhile, developers will need to keep refining peer‑selection and propagation mechanisms to stay ahead of network‑level attacks.
Key takeaways
- Transaction volume: Monthly Monero transactions in 2024‑2025 stayed above pre‑2022 levels despite exchange delistings and regulatory bans.
- Ransomware: Bitcoin remains the primary ransom payment method; Monero requests are present but not dominant.
- Darknet adoption: 48 % of new darknet markets in 2025 accepted only Monero, indicating growing illicit use.
- Network anomalies: 14‑15 % of nodes show atypical behavior, suggesting the presence of “spy nodes” that could compromise anonymity.
- Software response: The October 2025 Fluorine Fermi update adds a peer‑selection overhaul to reduce exposure to suspicious nodes.
Monero’s ability to retain activity levels amidst mounting external pressure underscores the enduring appeal of privacy‑focused digital assets. However, the emerging network‑layer challenges highlight that safeguarding anonymity will require continuous technical evolution beyond the cryptographic core.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/monero-demand-delistings-darknet-markets-spy-nodes-trm?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
