Key Highlights
- Privacy coins are up 213% since Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak, making it the only crypto sector above that level.
- Zcash is leading the rally, with ZEC up 2,496% over the past year and now making up about 62% of the privacy sector.
- The rally goes beyond ZEC, as the privacy sector excluding ZEC is still up 85% over the past year, with Monero, DASH, and ZEN also showing strong gains.
Privacy coins are having a standout run in a crypto market that is still trying to recover from its 2025 high.
The sector is up 213% since Bitcoin reached its peak on October 6, 2025, according to Glassnode data, with Zcash (ZEC) leading the sharp rise.
Bitcoin is still about 36% below its October 2025 high, while the median cryptocurrency among the top 200 remains 58% lower. Privacy coins are the only sector that has moved above its level from that day. Other sectors are still below their previous levels, including DeFi at about 27% lower and gaming at 74% lower.
The sector gains fresh momentum
The privacy sector has also picked up speed during the latest market recovery. It gained 90% over the past 30 days, helping its total market value grow from $7.1 billion a year ago to $33.6 billion today.
About $26.5 billion has been added to the sector, with close to half of that growth coming in the last 30 days.
The wider market has also seen a strong monthly recovery. About 91.5% of the top 200 cryptocurrencies gained during the past month. But the longer-term picture is very different, with only 25 of the top 200 assets still showing gains over one year.
Zcash leads the rally
Zcash has been at the center of the privacy coin rally. ZEC has surged 2,496% over the past year and now makes up about 62% of the privacy sector’s total market value. Its market capitalization ranking has jumped from 82nd to seventh during the rise.
The latest push has also come with increased institutional interest. Grayscale’s Zcash ETF launched on August 25 and had recorded about $34.4 million in net inflows by September 4. During the same period, ZEC moved above $1,000.
The rally goes beyond ZEC
Still, ZEC is not the whole story. Even after removing Zcash, the privacy sector remains much stronger than most of the crypto market. The privacy basket excluding ZEC is up 85% over the past year and 56% since Bitcoin’s October peak.
All eight privacy assets with at least one year of history are currently up over that period. Monero has doubled in the past year, while DASH and ZEN have all performed better than Bitcoin over the past 90 days.
The strength of the sector was also seen earlier in 2026. DASH gained 71% alongside gains in Monero, Decred and ZEN, while Monero moved above $600 after breaking out of a multi-year trading range.
Privacy coins stay ahead
Among the 25 largest cryptocurrencies, only ZEC, HYPE, XMR and WBT are above their October 6 prices. Two of those four are privacy coins.
The gains have come even as privacy-focused cryptocurrencies continue to face regulatory and anti-money-laundering scrutiny.
For now, Glassnode’s data shows a clear gap between privacy coins and the rest of the market, with the sector standing alone above Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak.
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