Privacy coins have emerged as one of the major stories shaping crypto investment trends this year. The two altcoins that lead the space in terms of volume and market capitalization are Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR).
Investor attention is focused on ZEC. Meanwhile, XMR continues its strong and steady growth.
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Despite not attracting attention, XMR outperforms ZEC in many ways
In terms of daily spot trading volume in December, ZEC performed very well.
According to CoinGecko, ZEC maintains a daily trading volume of nearly $1 billion. This level is higher than XMR and DASH thanks to the high liquidity of major exchanges such as Binance.
However, ZEC lags far behind in daily on-chain transactions. According to data from BitInfoCharts, XMR reaches an average of around 26,000 transactions per day. This number is more than three times ZEC’s average daily transaction count of approximately 8,000.
This chart also shows that XMR’s on-chain activity has remained consistent over time. This trend reflects stable user behavior. In contrast, ZEC’s recent spike and fall appears to be a temporary excitement.
On-chain activity has more long-term importance than spot volume. This reflects actual usage patterns and acceptance of XMR’s users for anonymous transfers, rather than short-term trading sentiment.
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In addition, the price of ZEC fluctuates due to increased volatility due to speculative trading. XMR price movement is more stable.
According to TradingView data, ZEC has fallen over 40% over the past month. Currently, many analysts are suggesting the possibility of a bubble pattern. Meanwhile, XMR fell by about 12%.
From this perspective, ZEC is suitable for traders who are following the privacy coin story and looking for quick profits during extreme FOMO cycles. The downside is the severity of the price decline and the length of the recovery period.
Additionally, the latest report from MEXC Research strengthens XMR’s position. Over a longer period of time, XMR has shown superior trading volumes and user activity compared to ZEC and DASH.
“Despite ZEC and DASH posting record trading volumes, Monero remains the asset of choice among privacy coin traders, accounting for 93% of total trading volume and 72% of users in this segment from Q3 to Q4,” MEXC Research reported.
The report also notes that the increased interest in privacy assets reflects users’ growing need for anonymity as regulators tighten capital controls.
So whether you hold ZEC or XMR, investors can continue to profit next year. Experts predict that privacy coins will continue to dominate the market in 2026.
