According to Glassnode data from September 7, 2026, privacy coins are the only crypto category trading above the Bitcoin peak of October 2025. Since that time, the sector has surged 213%. In contrast, Bitcoin is down 36%, DeFi tokens have fallen 27%, and gaming tokens have dropped 74%.
The total market capitalization of privacy coins within the top 200 assets increased from $7,1 billion to $33,6 billion over the last twelve months. Approximately $13 billion of this growth occurred in the 30 days preceding the report, during which the sector gained 90%.
Zcash is the primary driver of this growth, delivering a 2,496% return year-to-date. It rose from the 82nd position to 7th in market rankings and now accounts for 62% of the total privacy sector market cap. Excluding Zcash, the remaining privacy assets still posted an 85% gain over the past year.
Monero also remains above its October 2025 price level. Currently, only four assets in the top 200 trade above their October 2025 values, including Zcash and Monero. All eight privacy coins with at least one year of price history have recorded gains during this period.
