Privacy coins dominated the better part of 2025, and the trend appears to be trickling into 2026. Leading privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero, Dash, and Onyxcoin continue to record strong gains.
Is privacy the meta for 2026?
If 2024 was the year of memecoins, and the first half of 2025 belonged to perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX) tokens, the latter half of 2025 and the start of 2026 are certainly seeing the rise of privacy coins.
Major privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, such as XMR, DASH, and XCN, are leading the charge in 2026. According to data from crypto data website CryptoRank, XCN has posted gains worth 102%, while DASH and XMR recorded surges to the tune of 74% and 60%, respectively.
Privacy coins surging in 2026 might be bad news for traders who had expected the privacy narrative to run out of steam this year, especially after factoring in the extraordinary gains recorded by Zcash (ZEC) in 2025.
The rising popularity of privacy coins is due to several factors. For example, blockchain analytics tools and surveillance systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, forcing investors who value transaction privacy to choose coins such as XMR or ZEC.
In addition, institutional interest in privacy-focused coins is also increasing steadily. According to the latest data, Grayscale’s Zcash exchange-traded fund (ETF) currently holds assets under management worth more than $173 million.
The following chart shows an extraordinary rise in Grayscale’s Zcash Trust’s market price and net asset value (NAV) per share over the last year. Specifically, the market price has surged from $5.58 in January 2025 to $30.30 as of January 2026.
Is there more growth on the horizon?
Over the past year, XMR has risen by an impressive 240%. While some analysts caution that a slight price pullback may be looming, others are confident that the privacy narrative is here to stay.
In a recent X post, crypto analyst Bob Loukas dubbed XMR’s monthly chart the “prettiest long-term chart in crypto.” He added that it wouldn’t be surprising to see the coin as high as $5,000 by the end of 2026.
That said, government backlash against privacy coins continues to rise. Recently, several countries around the world have forced crypto exchanges operating in their jurisdiction to delist privacy coins due to fears of money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illicit activities.
