Privacy Coins Lead a Weak Market as Monero Jumps 5.2% and Zcash Holds $1,209

October 25, 2026 MM Crypto Team

Privacy Coins Lead a Weak Market

Monero and Zcash did something unusual on October 24: they rose while almost everything else fell. In a session where only 7 of the top 50 cryptocurrencies advanced and 35 declined, Monero (XMR) was the top-30 standout, gaining 5.2% to $614.81, while Zcash (ZEC) added 2.4% to $1,209 — on a day the total crypto market cap fell 1.3% to $2.66 trillion.

The contrast captures a pattern that has repeated through crypto’s history: when the broad market turns risk-off, capital does not always flee to cash. Sometimes it rotates toward narratives with their own logic — and financial privacy is one of the oldest narratives in crypto. Monero’s weekly gain of 10.4% and Zcash’s 3.0% suggest the move was not a single-day accident but a trend building for days.

For traders, the question is whether privacy coins are leading a rotation or merely enjoying a brief moment in the spotlight. The answer matters because privacy coins have a history of violent, narrative-driven moves in both directions — and because the regulatory risks over them are unlike those facing any other corner of the market.

Monero Jumps 5.2% to $614.81

Monero’s session was strong by any measure. XMR closed at $614.81, up 5.2%, after trading in a $565.91–$615.18 range — finishing almost exactly at the top of its daily band, which signals buyers were still bidding into the close rather than taking profits. The weekly gain of 10.4% puts the move in context: the latest leg of a sustained advance.

The range itself tells a story. A low near $566 and a high above $615 means XMR traveled almost 9% within a single day, and holding near the highs suggests momentum rather than a fleeting pump. In a market where the median top-50 coin fell 1.0%, a 5.2% gain with a strong close is the kind of price action that attracts trend-following buyers — and, just as often, profit-takers waiting for the next leg.

What makes Monero’s move distinctive is what it is not tied to. There was no protocol upgrade, no listing announcement, and no single headline driving the price. The move comes amid renewed attention to financial privacy — a slow-burning theme rather than a news event — which suggests the buying is thematic and patient rather than reactive and hot.

Zcash Holds Its Gains Near $1,209

Zcash’s day was quieter but no less significant. ZEC gained 2.4% to $1,209, extending its weekly advance to 3.0%. In a session where most of the market fell, holding gains counts as strength, and ZEC’s ability to stay above $1,200 while Bitcoin and Ethereum slipped suggests buyers are defending the level rather than distributing into it.

The context for ZEC’s resilience is its upcoming NU7 network upgrade, which activates around November 5 at block 3,543,405 — a dated catalyst that gives holders a reason to stay positioned through market weakness. Yesterday’s full report covered the upgrade in detail; the short version is that it cuts block times and adds a fee reserve, and the market is treating the activation window as a reason to hold rather than sell.

A Negative-Breadth Day: Only 7 of the Top 50 Rose

The backdrop was a broadly weak tape. Only 7 of the top 50 cryptocurrencies rose on the day, while 35 fell, and the median move was -1.0%. Total market capitalization slipped 1.3% to $2.66 trillion, and the two largest assets both declined: Bitcoin eased 0.2% to $80,782, while Ethereum fell 1.1% to $2,356.

Negative breadth of this kind is the signature of a market without a bid. When most coins fall together, the cause is rarely coin-specific; it is a general withdrawal of risk appetite, the kind of day when traders sell what they can rather than what they want to. That XMR and ZEC rose into that tape makes their strength more meaningful, not less: outperformance on a down day is harder to fake.

The majors reinforce the picture. Bitcoin’s 0.2% dip looks calm, but with the market cap down 1.3%, the weakness was concentrated in altcoins — the classic pattern of a risk-off rotation. Ethereum’s 1.1% decline, five times Bitcoin’s, fits the same pattern: when traders de-risk, they sell the more volatile assets first and hold the largest ones longest.

Why Privacy Coins Outperform in a Risk-Off Tape

Privacy coins have a long history of moving against the grain, and the reasons are structural. Their value proposition — untraceable transactions — does not depend on the same cycles as the rest of crypto. A privacy coin rises when people want financial privacy, and that demand tends to be countercyclical: it grows when trust in institutions falls, when surveillance expands, or when markets turn volatile.

That countercyclical demand explains the divergence. On a day when the median coin fell 1%, buyers were not chasing momentum — they were buying a hedge against a different kind of risk. Monero and Zcash offer something no other major cryptocurrency does: transactions that cannot be traced on a public ledger. For a subset of holders, that property is worth paying for precisely when the rest of the market is selling off.

There is also a supply-side factor. Privacy coins have smaller, more committed holder bases than the large-cap tokens, and their markets are thinner. In thin markets, modest buying moves prices further — which is why XMR can gain 5.2% on a day when Bitcoin barely moves. The same thinness cuts the other way.

The Privacy Premium: What Is Driving Demand

The renewed attention to financial privacy behind Monero’s move has several drivers. Surveillance of financial transactions has expanded steadily, with exchanges collecting more identity data, blockchain analytics firms tracing more flows, and governments treating crypto transactions as an open book. Each step increases the value of a coin whose ledger reveals nothing about sender, receiver, or amount — Monero’s core design.

Zcash’s appeal is related but distinct. Its shielded transactions use zero-knowledge proofs to hide transaction details while keeping the option of transparent transfers, a flexibility that has made it more palatable to institutions and regulators than Monero’s always-private design. That difference shows up in the market: ZEC’s gains are often steadier, while XMR’s moves are sharper and more retail-driven. On October 24, both styles of demand showed up at once.

The broader context is a year in which privacy has returned to the center of the crypto conversation. Debates over transaction surveillance, exchange data collection, and the traceability of supposedly anonymous wallets have reminded users that most cryptocurrencies are far more transparent than they assumed. Bitcoin’s ledger is public; anyone can follow a transaction from wallet to wallet. For users who assumed otherwise, that discovery is a reason to look at coins built for privacy from the ground up.

The Risks: Regulation and Delistings

The same feature that makes privacy coins attractive is also their greatest vulnerability. Regulators in major jurisdictions have treated untraceable cryptocurrencies with suspicion for years, and the pressure has only grown. Several large exchanges have delisted Monero entirely, citing compliance requirements, and the list of venues where XMR can be traded has shrunk steadily. Each delisting reduces liquidity, narrows the buyer base, and makes the price more volatile.

Zcash faces a softer version of the same risk. Its optional transparency has kept it listed on more exchanges than Monero, but regulators have still questioned whether shielded transactions can ever be compliant enough for mainstream finance. If a major jurisdiction restricted privacy coins outright, or a large exchange dropped ZEC alongside XMR, the price impact would be swift and severe.

There is also the risk that the privacy narrative itself cools. Privacy-coin rallies have historically been sharp and short-lived, driven by news cycles rather than sustained adoption. If the current attention fades without new catalysts, XMR’s 10.4% weekly gain could unwind as quickly as it appeared — and with fewer exchanges listing the coin, the exit would be narrower than the entry.

What to Watch Next

Three things will decide whether the privacy-coin rally extends or reverses. First, Bitcoin’s $80,000 level: XMR and ZEC outperformed on a down day, but a decisive break lower in Bitcoin would drag the whole market, privacy coins included, and test whether the divergence was real rotation or a one-day fluke. Second, Monero’s follow-through: XMR closed near the top of its daily range, and whether buyers defend $600 on the next weak day will show if the move has legs.

Third, the regulatory calendar. Any fresh statement from a major regulator on privacy coins — or any new delisting — would hit this corner of the market harder than any other. Privacy coins trade on a narrative that regulators tolerate them; the day that tolerance visibly narrows, the premium collapses. Until then, Monero’s 5.2% day and Zcash’s hold above $1,200 stand as a reminder that the coins moving against the tape often reveal where the market’s anxieties really lie.

FAQ

Why did Monero rise 5.2% on October 24? XMR gained 5.2% to $614.81, up 10.4% on the week, amid renewed attention to financial privacy.

How did Zcash perform? ZEC gained 2.4% to $1,209, up 3.0% on the week, holding above $1,200 while most of the market fell.

How weak was the broader market? Only 7 of the top 50 rose and 35 fell, with a median move of -1.0%. Total market cap fell 1.3% to $2.66T, BTC slipped 0.2% to $80,782, and ETH fell 1.1% to $2,356.

What are the risks for privacy coins? Regulatory pressure and exchange delistings are the main risks. Several large exchanges have delisted Monero, and any fresh restriction on privacy coins could hit prices hard.

Why do privacy coins outperform on weak days? Demand for financial privacy is countercyclical, and thin markets amplify modest buying into larger price moves.

Source: Basis Desk

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