Zcash and Monero Post Strong Annual Gains as Santiment Highlights Privacy Coin Trend

Market intelligence data shows privacy-focused assets outperforming the wider market downturn, led by a steep surge in Zcash.

6 October 2026 · -3

Market analytics platform Santiment reported that breakouts in privacy coins have emerged as a prominent trend, with Zcash gaining 741% and Monero climbing 77% over the past year. These advances occurred during a broader market pullback that saw major digital assets decline between 30% and 49%, including a 30% drop for Bitcoin.

The divergence highlights differing technical structures. Bitcoin relies on a public ledger where transaction amounts and addresses are visible to anyone, allowing transfers to be traced if a wallet is tied to an identifiable identity. In contrast, privacy coins use cryptographic techniques to obscure data, with Monero hiding transaction details automatically and Zcash offering optional shielding.

Despite their recent performance, both assets continue to trade below their record highs. Zcash traded at $1,367 with a market capitalization of $23.2 billion, while Monero reached $563 with a value of $10.6 billion. Together, both privacy assets represent roughly 2% of Bitcoin's $1.73 trillion valuation.

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