Privacy Coins Defy Market Slump! ZEC Surges Over 17%

TradingKey – Privacy-focused tokens rallied strongly, with Zcash (ZEC) jumping more than 17% and eyeing a break above $300 this month.

On Wednesday, October 15, the broader crypto market weakened:

• Bitcoin (BTC) dipped 0.34%
• Ethereum (ETH) edged down 0.03%
• Binance Coin (BNB) dropped over 4%

Despite this, the privacy coin sector surged nearly 2%, pushing total market cap to $54 billion. Leading the charge:

• Monero (XMR) rose nearly 4%
• Zcash (ZEC) spiked close to 18%
• Dash (DASH) climbed more than 4%

Top 8 Privacy Coins by Market Cap – Source: CoinMarketCap.

Since early October, privacy coins — especially ZEC — have shown low correlation with Bitcoin and the broader market, often moving in the opposite direction. After a brief pullback, ZEC has resumed its upward momentum and is now on track to potentially break above $300 this month.

ZEC Price Chart – Source: TradingView.

This divergence highlights growing interest in privacy-preserving assets amid regulatory uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment. If momentum continues, ZEC could lead a broader rotation into niche altcoin sectors.