Monero XMR is finally delivering some much-needed gains this week despite kicking off the month of August in a bit of a rut. The cryptocurrency enjoyed some bullish momentum at the start of the bullish market in July but its momentum tapered off in the first two weeks of August despite strong gains achieved by many other cryptocurrencies during that time.

XMR is currently trading at $319 after a brief rally that contributed to a 19.40% gain in the last 7 days at the time of this press. The cryptocurrency’s buying volume has been relatively low despite heavy bullishness prevailing in the global crypto market. However, there was a significant uptick in Monero’s buying volume in the last 5 days, suggesting that it is finally receiving more attention from investors.

Source: Binance

XMR’s strong bull run might have yielded healthy gains but it will likely cool off near its current price level since it is overbought according to the RSI. However, there is still a chance that it will continue rallying in the future especially if the overall market sentiment remains bullish. Monero’s latest bullishness happened right after the atomic swaps between XMR and Bitcoin were launched, boosting privacy and decentralization.

Why have Monero bulls been holding back?

Monero’s relatively poor performance earlier this month might be due to the negative publicity around the cryptocurrency. It is currently the leading privacy coin and it has been receiving some backlash because it makes it easier for hackers to hide their money after malicious activity since it cannot be traced. Note that Monero’s creators intended for the digital coin to be used by those seeking privacy in their transactions and that represents a broad view of crypto traders. This criticism might have spoofed investors from buying the digital currency but FUD was never going to keep them at bay forever.

XMR’s buying volume earlier this month might have also been subdued by security concerns after it was revealed that the digital currency had a bug that could affect its privacy. The announcement likely led to more investor concerns, causing them to steer clear of the cryptocurrency for the time being. The situation was further exasperated by reports that Riccardo Spagni AKA FluffyPony, a former Monero developer was deemed a flight risk and denied bail after a court ruling.

Spagni maintained Monero’s privacy algorithm while working for the crypto project. Although he no longer holds that job title, his arrest and detainment may have provoked some concerns among Monero’s community considering that law enforcers in the U.S have been trying to crack its privacy measures. It would not be farfetched that federal law enforcers might want to hold someone like Spagni so they can get vital information on how to crack Monero’s anti-tracking measures.

Fortunately, those concerns seem to have thawed off in the last few days, allowing Monero to register some much-needed gains. Monero still has some ground to cover before closing in on its previous all-time high and it will likely keep climbing if the market maintains the bullish momentum for a while longer.