This Week's Surge in Privacy Coins
Privacy coins have surged significantly this week, with Zcash taking the lead as the largest privacy coin. Factors influencing this shift include technical upgrades and market dynamics.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies are experiencing notable gains this week, with Zcash surpassing Monero as the leading privacy coin by market value.
Several industry analysts have anticipated a price surge for these coins, and their predictions are increasingly becoming reality.
There are speculations regarding a potential coordinated effort to boost privacy coin valuations. Alex Bornstein, the Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation, mentioned to Cointelegraph that the rise in Zcash’s value is tied to growing fears about government intrusion into personal privacy rights.
Combined hype and technical developments have brought attention back to privacy coins during a time when other digital tokens struggle.
Zcash
Zcash (ZEC) has seen its market cap grow over 10% in just the past week, with a price increase of over 76%, bringing its value to $632. It has now surpassed Monero (XMR) to claim the title of the largest privacy coin.
Zcash price saw gains of over 75% on the week. Source: CoinMarketCap
This price rise follows significant updates by the Electric Coin Company, the developer of Zcash. The introduction of cross-chain swaps and private transactions has improved the functionality of the network, leading to increased trading volume.
Bornstein stated on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction, “there’s just a powerful narrative, and I think people are just waking up to what Zcash can really accomplish.”
Related: Why Zcash and privacy tokens are back in the conversation
Monero
Monero (XMR), which has recently been overtaken by Zcash, reported a price increase of nearly 10% within a week, raising its market cap to $6.62 billion.
Monero price closed the week with more modest gains than Zcash. Source: CoinMarketCap
Recently, Monero launched the Flourine Fermi update, enhancing security against malicious “spy nodes”—nefarious nodes that can trace transactions.
Related: Monero releases Flourine Fermi update to fight spy nodes
Dash
The Dash privacy coin (DASH) surged by over 130% this week, closing at just above $107.
Dash’s price closed the week above $100. Source: CoinMarketCap
On November 2, Aster DEX launched Dash perpetual futures trading with 5x leverage, enhancing the token’s liquidity and market presence. Analysts attribute some of this price adjustment to the prevailing narrative surrounding privacy coins.
ZKsync
ZKsync (ZK) has also appreciated by 113%, with its price reaching $0.063 at the week’s end.
ZKsync’s price spiked at the beginning of November. Source: CoinMarketCap
ZKsync, an Ethereum layer-2 solution utilizing zero-knowledge rollups, may soon revamp its governance token to reflect its evolution with interconnected zero-knowledge chains.
Related: ZKsync creator floats governance token revamp to add ‘economic utility’
Gluchowski suggested aligning usage with value to make decentralization sustainable and that the network captures meaningful economic benefits.
Decred
Decred (DCR) has likewise experienced a remarkable price increase, surging 90% to settle at $30 this week.
DCR’s price spiked above 60% on Nov. 4. Source: CoinMarketCap
After a prolonged period of relative stability, Decred’s recent price explosion is attributed to ongoing conversations surrounding privacy tokens.
