Monero ( $XMR ) has returned to the $600 price region as futures traders rebuild positions, with analysts watching whether the privacy-focused cryptocurrency can break above resistance or retreat toward $570.
According to Santiment Intelligence, Monero futures open interest closed October 20 at $198 million, below its September peak, even as the number of outstanding contracts measured in XMR climbed during the preceding five days.
Monero futures open interest rebounds without reaching record levels
Santiment’s October 21 analysis challenged claims that Monero futures open interest had reached a record high.
Its data placed the October 20 closing figure at $198 million, compared with $208.8 million on September 5. The latest reading ranked fifth among daily closes over the preceding 12 months.
Measured in XMR instead of dollars, open interest stood at approximately 329,000 coins on October 20. That remained below the roughly 402,000 XMR recorded on September 2.
The distinction matters when comparing derivatives activity across different periods. Dollar-denominated open interest changes with both contract positioning and the underlying cryptocurrency’s price, while coin-denominated figures provide another measure of outstanding exposure.
Between October 15 and October 20, Santiment recorded approximately 22% growth in coin-denominated open interest, accompanied by a 9% rise in Monero’s price.
The simultaneous gains indicate that traders were rebuilding futures positions during the recovery, although aggregate open interest does not establish whether buyers or sellers controlled the new positions.
Funding rates presented a different picture from late September.
Santiment found that the seven-day average funding rate reached approximately 2.7 times its June 23–October 13 reference average during September 28–October 4.
During October 14–20, the same measure cooled to approximately 0.9 times that reference average, even as outstanding futures positions grew.
The figures indicate that leverage recovered without funding returning to the elevated levels observed at the beginning of October.
Monero price analysis shows resistance between $600 and $620
On the daily chart, Monero was trading near $597.90, recording a modest session decline after recovering considerably from its July price levels.
The cryptocurrency has maintained a sequence of higher highs and higher lows since July, when XMR traded around $320.
Its recent advance brought prices close to $600, where resistance extends toward $620. A sustained daily close above $620 could put $650 into focus as the next technical target.
Failure to recover $600 would leave immediate support around $570, followed by the 540–550 area. The $500 level remains a more distant downside reference if selling continues.
The Aroon Oscillator, using a 14-period setting, stood at 35.71 after recovering from negative territory. The positive reading indicates improving trend strength, although it remains below levels seen during stronger advances.
Monero’s Accumulation/Distribution indicator registered approximately -243,040. Its recent upward movement suggests improving buying pressure, but the indicator remains negative.
At the October 21 snapshot, XMR had fallen 3.05% over 24 hours to $595.93, despite recording a weekly gain of 6.18%.
Daily trading volume stood near $204.2 million, while Monero’s market capitalization reached approximately $11.22 billion, placing it 13th among cryptocurrencies.