Privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies are seeing renewed investor demand as the desire for financial anonymity resurfaces across the digital asset world.
According to data from CoinGecko, the total market capitalization of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies surged nearly 80% over the past week, briefly topping $24 billion on Monday before easing 2.9% to around $23.7 billion.
The gains came even as the broader crypto market slipped 3.7% during the same period from $3.96 trillion to $3.81 trillion suggesting that privacy-centric assets are decoupling from wider market trends.
Among the top performers were Dash (DASH) and Zcash (ZEC), which rose 65% and 9.5% respectively over the week.
Privacy coins such as Zcash and Monero (XMR) obscure sender, receiver, and transaction details, providing deeper privacy than pseudonymous cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
Analysts call privacy a growing necessity
Privacy is increasingly viewed as a necessity rather than a feature. This renews ideological demand for private, self-sovereign transactions.
Kennis noted that Zcash’s expanding shielded pool, combined with innovations like the Zashi wallet and Solana integration, is making privacy transactions more accessible to everyday users.
He added that Zcash’s fixed supply of 21 million coins, its proof-of-work model, and use of zk-SNARK cryptography make it comparable to an “encrypted Bitcoin” for investors seeking confidentiality.
Zk-SNARKs zero-knowledge proofs that hide transaction data on public blockchains are helping strengthen the next generation of privacy infrastructure.
Arthur Hayes sparks Zcash momentum
Investor enthusiasm was further boosted by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who predicted that ZEC could rally to $10,000. The forecast preceded Zcash’s surge to an eight-year high of $388 on Friday, briefly overtaking Monero as the most valuable privacy coin.
Following Hayes’s post, ZEC jumped from $272 to $355 within hours, highlighting how sentiment-driven speculation continues to play a role even within the niche privacy asset sector.