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ZEC, DASH Surge Over 16%. Privacy Coins Lead Market, Can This Rally Still Be Chased?

TradingKey
AuthorBlock Tao
May 21, 2026 6:53 AM

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The privacy coin sector surged nearly 5%, driven by strong performances from Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH), which rose over 16%. ZEC's rally, up over 255% from its lows, is attributed to the Zcash Foundation's finances and low circulating supply. Dash's momentum stems from its May technical upgrade, integrating Zcash's privacy features for regulatory compliance, and its cross-chain ecosystem expansion. However, the rally's sustainability is uncertain as ZEC nears its previous high, potentially facing profit-taking and trapped investor selling pressure, indicating high risk for those chasing the current rally.

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TradingKey - ZEC and DASH prices surge, boosting the privacy coin sector broadly; can this rally be sustained?

On May 21, the privacy coin sector surged nearly 5%, with total market capitalization approaching $63 billion; 24-hour trading volume spiked approximately 24% to reach $4.7 billion. Among them, Zcash ( ZEC) and Dash (DASH) both surged over 16%, breaking above $670 and $50, respectively. Meanwhile, Monero (XMR), which had been underperforming recently, also rose over 2%, returning above $400.

privacy-crypto-coin-c51a49b640474fc889e5af4648a8e9d1Top 10 Privacy Coins by Market Cap, Source: CoinMarketCap

The collective strength of privacy coins leading the overall cryptocurrency market is primarily due to the robust performance of ZEC. Between February and March this year, ZEC experienced a two-month period of volatility before breaking through the $280 resistance level in April. It has since continued to rebound strongly, with a cumulative recovery of over 255% from its lows. This powerful rally in ZEC is attributed, on one hand, to the Zcash Foundation's extremely healthy finances, and on the other hand, to the fact that over 30% of the ZEC supply is locked in privacy shielded pools, with Grayscale Trust locking up another significant portion, resulting in extremely low actual circulating supply in the secondary market.

zcash-zec-price-c1b842158c8847c1bfaebf334f6a54c5ZEC Price Chart, Source: TradingView

In addition to ZEC supporting the privacy coin sector, the implementation of Dash's May technical upgrade and its cross-chain ecosystem expansion also added momentum. According to the official roadmap, DASH abandoned its CoinJoin mixing model in May and integrated the Zcash Orchard privacy shielded pool to address regulatory requirements. Furthermore, Aurora, the Ethereum-compatible layer of the NEAR ecosystem, introduced DASH into its Intents smart components, a move that enhanced DASH's liquidity and utility value.

It was precisely the positive financial outlook for Zcash and Dash's compliance-focused technical upgrades that caused capital to form a strong sectoral resonance in a short period, igniting the entire privacy sector. However, can this rally be sustained? As the leader of privacy coins, ZEC's price is only about 10% away from last year's high of $750. Selling pressure from profit-takers and trapped investors could emerge at any time, potentially dragging the entire sector into a correction. This also implies that the risk of chasing the rally at this moment is high.

This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.

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Reviewed byBlock Tao
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely represents the author's personal opinions and does not reflect the official stance of Tradingkey. It should not be considered as investment advice. The article is intended for reference purposes only, and readers should not base any investment decisions solely on its content. Tradingkey bears no responsibility for any trading outcomes resulting from reliance on this article. Furthermore, Tradingkey cannot guarantee the accuracy of the article's content. Before making any investment decisions, it is advisable to consult an independent financial advisor to fully understand the associated risks.

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