- Privacy coins have been on a sector-wide rally in recent times.
- Increased regulatory surveillance is having a paradoxical effect on the privacy coin sector.
- Capital rotation from Zcash is boosting Monero’s value.
Privacy coins have been on an impressive run, with the top echelon of the digital asset category returning significant profit since the beginning of the year. Data from CoinGecko reveals that all the top five privacy coins by market capitalization, except Zcash, have recorded notable gains in the past seven days.
It is worth noting that Zcash is facing a crucial governance challenge at a critical period, when cryptocurrencies in its category are experiencing a boost in adoption. Zcash’s situation is so serious that the project’s core team has resigned amid governance disputes, leading to an exodus of investors from its ecosystem.
In the meantime, other privacy coins in the top five category that have shown impressive performance lately include Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), Beldex (BDX), and Decred (DCR). All of these tokens have performed impressively despite the overall setback in crypto prices after the first week of 2026.
Monero (XMR)
Monero surged to $721 on Wednesday morning after surging 8.5% in the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly gains to an impressive 59%. Capital rotation from Zcash, regulatory paradox, and a boost in organic demand comprise the tailwind behind Monero’s latest price surge.
For proper context, the exit of a major developer team from Zcash, Monero’s main competitor, triggered a loss of confidence in the project from investors. Therefore, investors relocating from the former have contributed to the recent growth in Monero. Additionally, the recent ban on privacy tokens in Dubai, alongside the increased intensity of regulatory oversight in Europe, appears to have a paradoxical effect on the privacy coins sector.
In the meantime, Monero’s network fees data indicate a rise in real users willing to pay premiums for private transactions despite a hike in the fees since mid-2025. This development reflects a surge in organic demand for the network’s privacy features.
Dash (DASH)
DASH’s rebound over the past three days led to a 91% price surge, with the price climbing over $69 for the first time since November last year. The cryptocurrency’s latest rally stems from users’ response to growing concerns over financial surveillance and potential regulations, which have triggered a sector-wide capital rotation into privacy coins.
Other factors supporting the recent surge in DASH price include a significant increase in open interest and positive funding rates, indicating aggressive leveraged buying and short covering. Meanwhile, the Dash ecosystem has recently experienced notable upgrades, including the expansion of trading pairs on Europe-based OKX exchanges and its partnership with Alchemy Pay.
It is worth noting that DASH has broken above key resistance levels, breaking out of a “falling wedge” technical formation. This development is attracting momentum from traders and boosting the cryptocurrency’s bullish sentiment.
Beldex (BDX)
Despite a slight pullback on Wednesday morning, from an overall perspective, Beldex maintains an impressive rally this week. The top privacy coin surged 17.55% in the past 72 hours before retracing.
Aligning with the overall trend across the privacy coin sector, the response to increased surveillance and potential regulation is driving users to Beldex and its decentralized applications, including BChat and BelNet.
In the meantime, recent developments within the Beldex ecosystem, including cross-chain interoperability via the LayerZero integration in December 2025 and an upcoming EVM compatibility feature in Q1 2026, are contributing to the protocol’s rising demand. It is also worth noting that Grayscale cited Beldex among the top privacy assets in its Q4 2025 report, signaling the project’s growing institutional recognition and acceptance.
Meanwhile, Beldex experienced an increase in trading volume, reflecting growing community support. The project’s 4 million “picks” on Binance Futures NEXT reflects the rising enthusiasm among Beldex users, contributing to the recent growth experienced by the privacy coin project.
Decred (DCR)
Decred’s native cryptocurrency, DCR, has surged over 47% this week, according to data from TradingView. Several factors are behind the privacy coin’s sudden rise, including the overall interest in the digital asset class amid regulatory concerns.
As mentioned above, there is increased interest in privacy coins across the broader cryptocurrency sector following recent regulatory adjustments in Dubai and Europe. Ever since, Decred has become one of the prominent solutions that crypto users are adopting as a defensive play.
Besides regulatory concerns, Decred has been developing extended privacy features that are attracting more users to its ecosystem, including StakeShuffle Mixnet enhancements and Atomic Swap upgrades. These features add practical utility to Decred’s network, providing ideal solutions to users seeking non-custodial and KYC-free transactions.
Similar to Beldex, Decred featured in Grayscale’s Q4 2025 report as a top-performing privacy token, signaling growing institutional acceptance for the blockchain project. In the meantime, the DCR tokenomics also contribute to its price development through a staking process that locks approximately 60% of its circulating supply. Such a development can amplify price movements on relatively modest increases in trading volume.
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