Monero Surges on Native Swaps, Eyes $500 Target Amid AlphaPepe DEX Development

Monero's price has been boosted by native cross-chain swaps through THORChain 3.20, allowing XMR holders to exchange their assets directly with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins without relying on centralised exchanges.

This upgrade addresses a practical limitation for Monero, which provides privacy by default but has faced restrictions on trading due to its design. The native swaps restore an important route into the market, giving users control over their assets while the protocol handles the swap across separate blockchains.

XMR is currently trading near $470 with a market value of around $8.8 billion. To reach $500, it would need to increase by approximately 6.4%, adding about $560 million to its current market capitalisation. The target seems achievable, given the continued native-swap activity and Monero's established presence in the market.

Meanwhile, AlphaPepe is developing a different type of decentralised exchange, AlphaSwap, which will add AI-powered token intelligence before users confirm a swap. This feature aims to help retail users make informed decisions by providing data on token contracts, ownership controls, and trading restrictions.