Privacy Coins Gain Value: Zcash and Dash See 80% Price Increase

The privacy-focused cryptocurrency market is witnessing a significant revival, with

(ZEC) and (DASH) spearheading an 80% increase in total market value over the last week. This impressive climb, which comes as the overall crypto market dropped by 3.7%, highlights a rising interest in financial privacy as investors look to keep their transactions away from public view, according to a . Zcash has notably surpassed Monero (XMR) in market cap, briefly hitting $7.2 billion while Monero stood at $6.3 billion, suggesting a possible shift in dominance among privacy coins, as reported by . Dash, another major contender, soared by more than 44.75% in just one day, reclaiming the $50 mark for the first time this year, according to .

This renewed enthusiasm for privacy coins is fueled by both technological progress and evolving regulations. Zcash’s flexible privacy feature, which lets users select between transparent and shielded transactions, has drawn institutional investors who are cautious about the compliance issues tied to Monero’s default privacy, as noted in

. Experts point to Zcash’s integration with services like Zashi CrossPay and its ability to work with faster blockchains such as as key factors making it more accessible, according to Coinotag. Meanwhile, Dash’s breakout from a nearly three-year downtrend, along with a 397% jump in open interest for derivatives, has made it a hotspot for speculative trading, EthNews reports.

Arthur Hayes, BitMEX’s co-founder, has further fueled the rally by forecasting that Zcash could reach $10,000 per coin—a bold prediction that helped drive a 50% price increase in just one week, as reported by CoinDesk. Jake Kennis from Nansen remarked that privacy is increasingly seen as essential, not optional, with Zcash’s growing shielded pool and user-friendly updates making it attractive to both privacy advocates and practical users, Coinotag noted. The sector’s ability to withstand broader economic uncertainty points to a larger movement toward self-managed financial solutions as regulatory oversight grows, a trend EthNews has highlighted.

Although Zcash and Dash have captured most of the attention, other privacy coins such as

and have also seen substantial gains, with PIVX jumping 84% over the week and Horizen climbing 60.63%, according to EthNews. This broad-based surge indicates a strategic shift of funds into assets that resist censorship, especially as concerns over surveillance and global tensions continue. Institutional moves, like Grayscale’s introduction of a Zcash Trust, further reinforce the sector’s growing legitimacy, as EthNews also reported.

Despite this momentum, privacy coins still face significant hurdles. Monero’s removal from major exchanges due to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations illustrates the regulatory obstacles that could limit broader adoption, as LookonChain pointed out. Even so, the sector’s unique technology and the ongoing investor appetite for privacy suggest that privacy coins could become a defining investment theme in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Coinotag.