Monero Drops 3% on 12th Birthday as Bitcoin Rally Stalls

On the 12th birthday, one of the leading privacy coins, Monero, experienced a small drop of 3% following a consolidation and the correction in the overall crypto market. 

According to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency plunged by around 2.95%, forcing its price to slip below $343.35. Despite the drop, the cryptocurrency still holds an impressive market capitalization of around $6.33 billion. However, the daily trading volume reported a drop of around 1.5% and is currently revolving around $110.23 million. 

The drop in Monero mainly comes from ongoing sector rotation, as money moves into Bitcoin amid a rally. Also, overall sentiment across altcoins stays neutral. This is also confirmed by the altcoin season index, which is slightly leaning toward Bitcoin right now. This kind of capital rotation in Bitcoin is reducing demand for privacy-based coins such as Monero. 

Monero Faces Rejection at $355 Amid Correction in Bitcoin

Monero Monero-0.87% is forming a converging wedge pattern on the daily chart. This pattern indicates that pressure is building slowly. This kind of pattern is generally known for a clear breakout once the price moves outside the narrowing range. Some analysts are also suggesting a consolidation pattern inside a tight range on the four-hour timeframe.

This consolidation pattern is increasing the chance of a sharp directional move. The token has traded between $340 and $355 over the last few weeks. This pattern is showing balanced short-term conviction but sets the stage for volatility linked to upcoming network updates or changes in overall market trends.

According to TradingView, the price chart is currently in neutral territory. The relative strength index is sitting at around 46, which means that momentum is balanced between buyers and sellers without entering into overbought and oversold territory. Most moving averages are also giving mixed signals as the price is hovering close to shorter-term lines while longer-term averages provide modest underlying support. 

Furthermore, the average for the shorter period confirms stabilization. This could help if new demand takes place. 

The Monero ecosystem is gradually expanding its ecosystem with focused developments built around stronger privacy and long-term efficiency. Developers are currently working on the Full Chain Membership Proofs upgrade, known as FCMP++, along with CARROT features. There is also a hard fork remaining on schedule with no delays for a mid-2026 activation. 

This upgrade will expand the anonymity set by fetching from the full chain history. This will make the transaction process smoother to enhance performance. 

On top of that, the Qubic network announced on April 16 that it will phase out Monero mining rewards and replace them with Dogecoin. That news has raised short-term worries about hashrate distribution and miner participation, which also created additional pressure on the price. These factors have created 3% fall. 

In the current consolidation pattern, there are major support and resistance levels for Monero. The primary support level is holding around $340. This is working as a major level that buyers have defended multiple times during the past week of range-bound trading. The second biggest zone is sitting around $328 and $330, where the price might find a reliable stability during short-term selling waves.

On the upper side, there is an immediate resistance level at around $350 and $355. This is a level where the token has been reached many times without achieving a clear breakout. A surge above this level could target $360 as the next resistance level. These resistance levels within the converging wedge pattern mention the ongoing balance between buyers and sellers. 

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