Written by: PerpetualCow.hl
Compiled by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News
Original Title: How Wagyu Is Saving Monero: How One Tool Is Breaking Years of Price Suppression?
A few days ago, I exposed the trillion-dollar instant exchange industry. Today, I'm connecting the dots that haven't been pieced together yet on Crypto Twitter.
Since 2018, while almost every other cryptocurrency has been surging, the price of Monero (XMR) has been stuck in a range.
Most attribute this to exchange delistings, regulatory pressure, or the narrative that 'privacy coins are dead.'
They are all wrong.
To understand what's happening, you must first delve deep into the history of Monero XMR, including all the exchange delistings, and how most people actually buy this coin.
The Real Demand for Monero XMR
People have always wanted Monero, not just for privacy, but because it's seen as a store of value alternative to Bitcoin, like a 21st-century Swiss bank account.
Its utility didn't change just because exchanges got scared of regulation and delisted it.
This can be compared to illegal drug trade: when it's impossible to buy from a legitimate pharmacy, addicts will seek out more dubious channels, paying a higher price to get what they need.
As a result, the demand for Monero flowed to instant exchange services, not centralized exchanges.
Think from the perspective of an average user in 2024:
You want to buy Monero, but Binance just delisted it, and Coinbase won't touch it. Other small exchanges that still trade Monero are likely to freeze your funds for dealing with this coin.
You only have two choices:
Find a third-rate exchange that still lists Monero and pray they don't run off with the money.
Use an instant exchange service, pay high fees, and pray they don't freeze your funds indefinitely under the pretext of 'AML review'.
Over 60% of users chose the second path.
These services became the de facto on/off ramps for the Monero ecosystem.
They are, of course, unregulated and offer terrible exchange rates, but users have no other choice.
After all legitimate exchanges abandoned Monero, the instant exchange industry became the only channel, absorbing all Monero trading volume.
Tracking the Flow of Funds
All instant exchange services operate the same way:
The user sends Bitcoin and receives Monero, with the service secretly charging a 3-4% fee (while ostensibly only charging 0.5-1%).
But these fees are priced in Monero.
So how do these service providers handle the Monero they receive?
They don't hold it long-term; they are not believers. These are offshore companies chasing fiat profits, who immediately convert Monero to stablecoins and cash out.
Just like that, millions of dollars worth of Monero are sold into the market every day.
In market microstructure terms, this creates a persistent one-way outflow of funds. Regardless of overall market conditions, these services are constantly selling. While this is just their business model, the impact on price is devastating.
Quantifying the Capital Drain
In my previous article, I estimated the instant exchange industry handles about $1.5 trillion in transactions annually (across all chains), and that's just the on-chain verifiable part.
Monero's volume is invisible due to its privacy features, but industry estimates suggest it accounts for about 20% of total instant exchange flow.
Assume $30 billion worth of Monero is exchanged through these services annually.
Conservatively, the actual figure might be half of that, around $15 billion.
At an average fee of 0.75% (most actually charge 1%), the Monero fees collected annually are worth about $112.5 million.
All of this Monero is sold into the market.
This means over $300,000 in passive selling pressure every day. It's like an invisible pump constantly draining value from Monero.
And this is a conservative estimate. If Monero truly accounts for 20% of the volume and fees are 1%, that's $300 million annually, approaching $1 million in daily selling pressure.
But it doesn't end there; there's also the 'AML Trap'.
The AML Trap
This is the 'dirty secret' I exposed in my last article: these services, while advertising 'No KYC', arbitrarily freeze user funds under the pretext of 'AML review'.
It's estimated that 2-5% of transactions through instant exchange services get frozen. The rate is higher for large transactions.
This creates a vicious cycle:
Small transactions go through but are charged fees 10-20 times higher than normal
Large transactions are completely frozen, often permanently
Only a fraction of the actual buying demand actually reaches the market
This creates the most brutal price discovery barrier: buyers who could actually influence the price are systematically excluded from the market.
The real demand for Monero has always been far higher than its price reflects. The instant exchange industry either extracts from this demand or outright chokes it off.
A Captive Market
Let me be clear about this vicious cycle:
The instant exchange industry did not win the market through competitiveness. They gained a monopoly position when all exchanges delisted Monero, and then proceeded to extract the maximum possible from users who had nowhere else to go.
1% fees plus terrible exchange rates, plus random fund freezes.
Users tolerate it because they have no choice, and these service providers know it.
This is what happens when an entire asset class is forced into a single channel controlled by anonymous offshore operators: they extract with an uncompetitive product.
Every cent they extract turns into selling pressure on Monero.
Wagyu's Solution
Two days ago, Wagyu v2 launched.
The core idea is simple: let Monero users enjoy the same pricing level as exchange traders.
When you exchange through Wagyu, your order is routed to @Hyperliquidx—where the most competitive market makers in crypto compete for orders.
These are the same market makers that provide liquidity for Binance, Bybit, and OKX, offering tiny spreads.
The result: you get exchange-level prices and fees. No more 1% or 0.5%, but ultra-low rates like professional traders.
For the first time since Monero was delisted from exchanges, users don't have to get 'ripped off' just for using their own assets.
A single $100,000 transaction prevents over $1,000 in selling pressure from hitting the market.
Within 48 hours of launch, Wagyu v2 has already processed millions in exchanges, offering the best market prices:
Trades that would have gone through traditional services, been charged over 1% in fees, and caused the market to instantly absorb tens of thousands in selling pressure, are now happening through Wagyu.
$1 million exchange through traditional services = $10,000 worth of Monero sold
The same $1 million exchange through Wagyu = Zero forced selling
Multiply this effect by every large Monero buyer who discovers they no longer have to be 'robbed'.
Reversing the Vicious Cycle
For years, Monero has been trapped in a negative feedback loop:
The instant exchange industry acted as a value extraction layer, sitting between buyers and the real price. They intercepted demand, extracted profits, and distorted price signals. Users couldn't bypass them because there was no alternative.
Now, that has changed.
Just two days after launch, volume is already migrating to Wagyu. People are realizing they can get Binance-level pricing for an asset Binance won't even list, and the word is spreading fast.
The cycle is reversing:
It's no coincidence that Monero broke through $600 and began its first price discovery in years.
Wagyu Is Saving Monero
I'm not going to be modest about this:
Every exchange made through Wagyu instead of a traditional service is real buying pressure that reaches the market.
Every million-dollar trade that flows through us means over $10,000 won't be sold onto other holders.
We are not extracting from the Monero ecosystem; we are plugging it directly into real liquidity.
The parasitic layer that has suppressed Monero for years has finally met its competitor. And we are not competing on their terms—we are making their entire model obsolete.
When users can get exchange-level pricing with zero freeze risk through Wagyu, who will pay 1% fees to anonymous offshore services that might freeze their funds?
No one will.
What This Means
I'm not here to give price predictions. I don't know if Monero will go to $1,000, $2,000, or fall back to $400.
But I know for sure: for the first time since being delisted from exchanges, demand for Monero can truly translate into price.
We've been live for only two days and are already processing millions in trades—trades that would have continuously 'bled' the market.
With the 'ceiling' removed, Monero at $600 is still undervalued. At least now, the market will truly decide its value.
Price discovery is finally possible, and Wagyu is making it happen.
Twitter:https://twitter.com/BitpushNewsCN
Bitpush TG Group:https://t.me/BitPushCommunity
Bitpush TG Subscription: https://t.me/bitpush
