ZEC, XMR, DASH Lead Privacy Coin Rally as Bitcoin Hits $120K

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ZEC, XMR, DASH Lead Privacy Coin Rally as Bitcoin Hits $120K

Zcash, up over 130% since Sept. 25, fueled a privacy coin rally on Oct. 2.

ZEC Leads the Rally
On the day bitcoin (BTC) hit $120,000 for the first time since Aug. 14, privacy coins took the spotlight, with many posting double-digit gains. Zcash (ZEC), which had hit a three-year high 24 hours earlier, appeared to lead the charge after surging more than 20% on Oct. 2, briefly reaching $156.80 before retreating to $132 (1:30 p.m. EST). According to privacy coin market data from Coingecko, since September 25th, ZEC has seen its value increase by over 130%, the largest percentage increase among privacy coins.

As reported by Bitcoin.com News, ZEC’s rise has been attributed to a number of factors, including the announcement of the launch of Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZCSH). In addition to being seen as a major endorsement of ZEC, the announcement has been interpreted as a signal of growing institutional interest in the privacy coin sector. The introduction of cross-chain swap capabilities for zcash has been cited as another factor behind the sudden investor interest in the coin.

The newfound appreciation for the core value of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies also benefited Monero (XMR), which topped $340 for the first time since July 2025. XMR’s nearly 13% gain since September 25th has pushed its market cap above $6 billion, pushing it into the top 40 ranked digital assets.

Dash (DASH) continued its upward momentum with a 4.6% gain in 24 hours, bringing its weekly performance to an impressive 61%. Similar gains were seen in Decred (DCR) and Verge (XVG), which posted double-digit daily gains, bringing weekly returns to 21.9% and 43.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the third-ranked coin, Beldex (BDX), was one of the few privacy coins with negative weekly gains. Although up 1.2% in 24 hours, BDX’s price of $0.08036 at press time was 9.6% lower than on September 25. On the other hand, Zano (ZANO), ranked 6th, was down 3.5% after 24 hours, but was up 7.6% against the US dollar over a seven-day period.

The market cap of privacy coins jumped more than 21% to $10.3 billion on September 25. This increase was nearly 10 times the growth rate of the broader crypto market.