Privacy coins make a strong comeback: Dash leads the sector, Monero and Zcash regain key technological positions

A once dormant sector is making a comeback. According to Gate market data, as of January 14, 2026, the privacy coin sector has experienced significant capital inflows and a price recovery. Leading privacy coins such as Dash (DASH) and Monero (XMR), after a period of consolidation, have successfully reclaimed key technical levels. Dash even recorded an astonishing 33% increase within 24 hours, indicating renewed market attention to this niche.

Market Rotation

The privacy coin market has recently exhibited clear sector rotation characteristics. Capital is shifting from assets that performed strongly last year, such as Zcash (ZEC), toward more anonymous or practical coins represented by Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH).

According to Gate data, Dash has played an absolute leading role in this rally, with its price soaring 33.42% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at approximately $58.68, with a 24-hour trading volume of $14.82M. Monero also performed strongly, with steady price increases. Although Zcash rose by +4.42% in the past 24 hours, it still declined by 16.25% over the past 7 days, forming a stark contrast to Dash’s +32.56% gain over the same period.

Leading Player Analysis: Why Dash?

Dash stands out in this rally, and its underlying drivers are worth exploring. From a technical perspective, Dash’s price successfully broke through recent consolidation zones, with a intraday high of $68.28, accompanied by increased trading volume, indicating strong buying momentum. Gate’s chart suggests that if it can maintain its current level, its next technical target could be higher. Fundamentally, Dash is positioned as “digital cash,” focusing on fast, low-cost transactions.

In the context of rising demand for payment efficiency and practicality, Dash’s mature network and broad support (traded on many global exchanges) are advantages. In contrast, some privacy coins face delisting risks in certain regions due to regulatory pressures. Dash’s optional privacy feature (PrivateSend) is considered to strike a better balance between compliance and privacy, which may attract risk-averse capital.

Challenges and Opportunities for Zcash

Compared to Dash’s strength, Zcash (ZEC) has shown relatively moderate recent performance. This is closely related to an important fundamental news event.

In early January 2026, some core members of Zcash’s core development company, Electric Coin Company (ECC), including the former CEO, announced their resignation. This event was interpreted by the market as creating governance uncertainty, severely impacting investor confidence in the short term, causing ZEC’s price to drop rapidly. However, crises often contain opportunities. On-chain data shows that while retail investors sold off in panic, large holders (whales) and institutional investors quietly accumulated ZEC. For example, the assets under management of Grayscale’s Zcash Trust have recently increased significantly, and the number of ZEC in shielded pools (used for fully private transactions) has exceeded 5 million, about 30% of the total supply, reaching a new high. This indicates that “smart money” with long-term confidence in Zcash’s privacy value is buying the dip.

According to Gate’s price forecast data, the market’s long-term outlook for ZEC remains optimistic. The forecast suggests that by the end of 2026, ZEC’s average price could be around $12,715.73 (note: this forecast is based on a specific model; please refer to Gate’s real-time data). More optimistic views believe that with the development of its privacy Layer 2 network Ztarknet and integration with ecosystems like NEAR, ZEC could open new growth opportunities in the private DeFi space.

Technical Path Divergence

Monero, Zcash, and Dash differ fundamentally in their technical approaches to achieving privacy, which is a key factor influencing their market performance and user choices.

Monero uses default ring signatures, mixing real signers with multiple decoy signers, making it impossible for external observers to determine the true initiator of a transaction, thus providing strong, default transaction anonymity.

Zcash’s core technology is zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge). This technology allows users to prove the validity of a transaction without revealing any details (sender, receiver, amount), offering theoretically the strongest privacy. Users can choose to store funds in “transparent addresses” or “shielded addresses.”

Dash’s privacy feature, PrivateSend, is based on CoinJoin mixing. It combines multiple user transactions within a decentralized masternode network to obfuscate the source and destination of funds. This method offers optional, weaker privacy enhancement but benefits from fast transaction speeds and a mature, stable network.

Future Outlook

The collective revival of the privacy coin sector is not accidental. Against the backdrop of increasing global digital surveillance discussions and increasingly powerful on-chain analysis tools, some users and market funds are re-evaluating the strategic value of strong privacy assets. However, investors should also be aware of the sector’s inherent risks. First, liquidity for privacy coins remains thinner compared to mainstream assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, making them more susceptible to sharp and rapid price swings.

Second, regulatory risks are always a “Damocles sword” hanging over privacy coins. Governments worldwide may intensify scrutiny of anonymous crypto assets at any time, affecting their listing on mainstream trading platforms. Additionally, as exemplified by Zcash’s recent case, project governance and the stability of core development teams are also critical fundamental factors to monitor.

On Gate’s market page, Dash’s upward trajectory depicts a steep ascent, with its market cap approaching $725 million. Zcash’s chart seeks a new balance amid volatility, with whale accumulation behaviors subtly evident beneath the candlesticks. The future of privacy coins is full of uncertainty, but their rebound at least proves one point: in the crypto world, the pursuit of financial autonomy and privacy is an enduring, rigid demand. Every fluctuation in this sector reminds us that the original purpose of blockchain is not only transparency but also providing individuals with the freedom and protection to choose.