Monero leads privacy coin market capitalization as ZEC dips under $400

Monero (XMR) returned to the top spot among privacy coins after ZEC sank closer to $400. XMR flipped the previous leader with a price of $456.39. 

The battle between Monero (XMR) and ZEC intensified, as the two top privacy coins are fighting for the top spot in terms of market capitalization. 

XMR flipped ZEC with slow and steady gains, while ZCash had to battle reputational damage as the developer team abandoned the privacy project. | Source: Coingecko

XMR returned as the most valuable coin, with a price of $456.39, trading within its usual range. The coin took the top spot after ZEC had a deeper correction in the past week after the developer team abandoned the project over governance disputes. 

As a result, ZEC had a volatile price swing, sinking to a local low of $395.85. In the past day, ZEC regained nearly 10% to $434.13, but is still valued lower, at $7.14B total market cap. XMR traded at $8.42B in total market capitalization. 

Can ZEC recover? 

ZEC showed signs of recovery in the short term, but is still over $1B behind the valuation of Monero. The ZCash project will also have to rebuild its reputation after failing in its task to rally to over $1,000. 

ZEC was also showing signs that its success mostly hinged on the actions of influencers and a handful of whale buyers. The token is yet to prove its effect on decentralized finance and the willingness of retail to hold. 

There are still over 4.87M ZEC staked in the most high-security veiled vault, the Orchard pool. Despite the ZEC downturn, there are no signs of panic withdrawals. Privacy is still seen as an important issue in crypto activity, especially after tax authorities are trying to increase their scrutiny to wallets. 

Additionally, the developer team of the Electric Coin Company (ECC) has not completely abandoned ZEC. They have announced the formation of a new wallet and a privacy company, still expected to support ZCash. 

Miners are also supporting the coin, with hashrate expanding to a new all-time high.  

Can Monero drive the privacy coin narrative?

Monero has behaved as a legacy coin, with no specific support from influencers or investors. XMR expanded based on the overall performance of the crypto market. 

The behavior of ZEC has also sparked predictions that XMR could perform a similar rally after years of consolidation. Monero can still ride the privacy narrative, based on predictions of demand for disguising ownership.

Monero’s hashrate is also close to an all-time high with constant expansion in the last few months. Mining is also a way to gain new privacy coins with no connections to other wallets. 

XMR is still traded mostly on international exchanges and is avoided by US-based and EU market operators. For now, Monero has not made attempts to join the DeFi space or offer tokenized versions like ZEC.

XMR holders are introducing the narrative of the coin as a store of value, despite its ban on European platforms due to money laundering laws.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.