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With privacy-focused projects making a comeback in the cryptocurrency market, Monero (XMR) has regained its leading position among privacy coins in terms of market capitalization.
XMR prices rose more than 5% today, trading around $460, and are once again approaching the $490 range it briefly tested at the end of December.
This surge follows a period from mid-to-late 2025 when investors focused heavily on Zcash (ZEC). During last year’s rally, Zcash stood out in the privacy narrative; rising surveillance concerns, wallet integrations for shielded transactions, and a general trend towards privacy-themed assets made ZEC a favorite in the industry.
However, this situation began to reverse. The Monero event in September, recorded as the largest block reorg in blockchain history, brought network security and mining concentration issues back to the forefront. Despite this, the development did not disrupt the protocol’s long-term operation and helped maintain trust in Monero.
On the Zcash side, the uncertainties are even deeper. Today, the ZEC price faced strong selling pressure. This was due to the announcement that the entire Electric Coin Company (ECC) team had resigned following a management dispute. ECC CEO Josh Swihart stated that the developers were preparing to form a new company, and that this was a “forced separation” resulting from the process with the main foundation management, Bootstrap.
This development raised questions about Zcash’s short-term roadmap, development coordination, and strategic direction. Following the news, the ZEC price experienced a nearly 15% drop during the day before showing a limited recovery. Nevertheless, the pullback that began from the November peaks deepened, weakening Zcash’s position among the top 20 crypto assets it aimed to re-enter by the end of 2025.
*This is not investment advice.