Privacy Tokens Rally as Investors Rotate to 2018-Era Themes
Capital is flowing back into the privacy sector as the broader market searches for fresh narratives, signaling a “back-to-roots” trade reminiscent of the 2017–18 bull cycle.
Privacy-focused tokens have surged sharply, posting an average 15% gain over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Zcash (ZEC, $233.69) led the move with a 40% one-day gain, bringing its seven-day returns above 85% and making it the top-performing large-cap token.
Other notable gainers include Dash (DASH, $44.56), Verge (XVG, $0.00748), Decred (DCR, $19.84), and Tornado Cash (TORN, $15.02), each rising 13–35%. Railgun’s RAIL token surged 117% in 24 hours, with one-week gains exceeding 300%. Trading volumes are climbing across the sector, with ZEC alone turning over $1.1 billion in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin trades just under $122,000 and Ether around $4,350, as majors take a pause after earlier highs.
Catalysts Driving the Rally
Monero (XMR) remains a core privacy play, boosted by its “Fluorine Fermi” upgrade enhancing user privacy. Railgun benefits from renewed attention on shielded smart contract transactions, while Zcash’s rally is supported by Zashi wallet integrations enabling cross-chain shielded swaps. Dash has jumped as traders revisit its payments branding amid renewed stablecoin regulation discussions.
The flows suggest positioning for a broader regulatory arc. Multi-day strength indicates this is more than a short-lived spike. Historically, privacy tokens rally during periods of heightened surveillance or compliance concerns. Today, a U.S. government shutdown, dovish central bank signals, and renewed financial censorship debates create a similar backdrop, aligning privacy tokens with Bitcoin’s hedge narrative.
