XMR has been locked in a range between $180 and $100 for more than two years

A breakout could potentially yield a strong rally.

Monero (XMR), the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is rising toward a critical level that has repeatedly marked bull failure for over two years.

Since June 2022, XMR has been trading sideways, with multiple attempts to break above $180 leading to sharp pullbacks. The downside has been restricted to nearly $100, according to the charting platform TradingView.

The cryptocurrency’s struggle to maintain bullish momentum beyond $180 suggests traders have been offloading their holdings when it nears that level. With XMR now changing hands near $175, traders should closely watch for a repeat of a bearish reversal lower or a potential breakout.

Markets accumulate energy during consolidation phases, which is released in the direction of the eventual bullish breakout or bearish breakdown. The longer the consolidation, the bigger the buildup and eventual release.

A sustained move above $180 would shift focus to resistance at $260, which is identified by adding the height ($80) of the two-year trading range to the breakout price of $180. This method of arriving at potential price objectives/resistance levels is known as the measured move/height method, according to technical analysis theory.

XMR crashed 35% to $100 in February after Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, delisted the token, saying it didn’t meet the exchange’s standard. Prices saw a brief rally in June after some European countries cracked down on botnet mining.