After months of relatively muted performance, privacy coins are seeing a strong return to market attention. Led by Zcash (ZEC), which surged past $420 earlier today, several major tokens focused on anonymous transactions are outperforming the broader crypto market. The sharp increase in demand has not only pushed ZEC to a yearly high, but also triggered a wider rally in similar assets, including Monero (XMR) and DASH.
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Zcash Becomes Top Privacy Coin by Market Cap
Zcash is now trading above $420, up more than 55% this week alone. The token broke above the $400 psychological barrier in early Friday trading, overtaking Monero in market capitalization. ZEC’s recent strength has been tied to the rising use of its shielded transactions and growing support for privacy tools in cross-chain infrastructure. The shielded supply now exceeds 4.5 million ZEC, while wrapped versions of the coin are gaining traction in ecosystems like Solana.
The price action also follows weeks of accelerated trading volume and consistent higher highs, marking a sustained uptrend rather than a short-term spike. According to on-chain data, ZEC trading metrics have surpassed their 2021 levels – which some analysts have interpreted as a sign of speculative overheating, while others point to structural improvements in the privacy narrative.
Monero Still Growing, But Faces Technical Pressure
Monero (XMR), long regarded as the most well-established privacy coin, is also up 6% today and roughly 130% over the past year. However, the pace of its gains has slowed in recent months, partially due to external pressure from competing projects. In particular, Qubic’s attempt at a 51% attack on the Monero network earlier this year caused several block reorganizations and raised temporary concerns about security.
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Despite this, Monero remains widely used in privacy-preserving applications and dark net commerce. The coin’s ring signature mechanism and lack of optional privacy features have helped it maintain strong adoption across use cases, though it has now been surpassed by ZEC in market cap for the first time in the current cycle.
DASH Makes a Surprise Comeback
Perhaps the most unexpected part of this week’s rally has been DASH. The once-popular privacy coin – which had been trading around $20 for much of 2025 and had fallen out of the top 100 coins – jumped nearly 49% today, reaching $69. While still far from its all-time highs, DASH’s recent moves mark a significant turnaround after a long period of stagnation.
The rally appears to be driven primarily by renewed interest in privacy narratives, alongside technical breakouts triggered by the momentum in other related assets. DASH, which originally marketed itself as “Digital Cash,” uses optional PrivateSend transactions for obfuscating funds. Though it has not seen the same level of development attention as ZEC or XMR in recent years, it remains one of the oldest coins in the privacy sector.
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Looking Ahead
Despite the positive momentum, whether the current momentum can be sustained remains uncertain. Technical indicators on many privacy coins are extended, and some on-chain metrics suggest cooling may be needed in the short term. However, the strength of the move – especially after months of underperformance – has changed how traders are viewing the sector.
Privacy coins, once pushed to the sidelines of crypto markets, are suddenly back in the spotlight. With Zcash breaking through major resistance, Monero showing long-term resilience, and DASH attempting a full comeback, the narrative around anonymous transactions is once again at the center of attention.
