For years, the privacy side of crypto has been on the back burner. The crypto sector dismissed it as outdated, overregulated, or simply “too controversial.” These factors would also restrict mainstream adoption. Traders moved on. Investors stopped watching. The narrative felt finished for privacy altcoins.
But the market just made a strong correction to that assumption. Privacy coins are quietly having one of the strongest momentum shifts in the space right now. And it’s not just one token; it’s the entire vertical moving together. So, the real question is: Why now? Why are privacy altcoins waking up at this moment? Let’s dig into the catalyst that triggered this shift.
Why Are Privacy Altcoins Pumping?
I have noticed that privacy is making a comeback in crypto. The main reason is that the surrounding environment has changed. Over the last year, governments have increased surveillance and regulatory pressure. This included new KYC and AML proposals in both the U.S. and EU. Centralized exchanges have tightened identity verification. For instance, Binance rolled out a mandatory KYC between 2021 and 2023. On the other hand, we saw sanctions for mixers like Tornado Cash by the U.S. Treasury in 2022.
2/ In the last few months, we’ve seen a full-blown privacy renaissance across crypto.
From Snowden to Vitalik, everyone’s repeating the same thing:
“Privacy isn’t optional anymore, it’s survival.”
And if you’ve been watching the charts… privacy coins are waking up. pic.twitter.com/syPjbnb0yh
— Crypto Nova (@CryptoGirlNova) November 6, 2025
Meanwhile, you can trace almost all on-chain transactions. Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, showed this in their 2023 Transparency Report. In other words, decentralization does not equal privacy.
So, this realization is driving renewed demand for privacy tech. This comes at the same time as digital surveillance increases. A great sample is the discussion of state-issued CBDCs with full transaction traceability. So, privacy’s return isn’t hype, it’s a response to global conditions.
Institutions and Privacy
We can also see this back when looking at institutions. They’re looking for privacy in infrastructure, not for privacy coins as such. Banks, fintechs, and enterprises want:
- •Confidential transactions for clients.
- •Selective disclosure (only revealing data when required).
- •Auditability under regulation.
“Once these things become popular tools…
Blockchains for payments…
Blockchains for personal finance…
Then, people will demand privacy.
And institutions will demand privacy.”
– @eddylazzarin, CTO @a16zcrypto pic.twitter.com/KE5vplFMQD
— a16z crypto (@a16zcrypto) October 31, 2025
They see full anonymity coins as regulatory liabilities. So, institutions avoid holding privacy altcoins directly. On the other hand, institutions do believe privacy is essential for mainstream adoption. Privacy is not optional, but it must be compliant privacy. So, there’s a shift happening. Surveillance risk is changing minds. As CBDC development expands, institutions recognize:
- •Total transactional transparency is not acceptable to users.
- •There’s a need for standardized privacy; it should not be optional.
But efficiency isn’t the only requirement.
Institutions can’t necessarily operate in the open. Trading desks do need a certain level of confidentiality. Treasury ops need discretion. Competitive edge demands privacy by design. pic.twitter.com/xhla8soOwH
— Austin King (@AustinKing) May 29, 2025
So, will privacy altcoins and institutions be able to find common ground? As you can see, the issue at hand is not easy to solve. Privacy altcoins are still considered liabilities. However, the demand for them is there.
So, now, let’s take a look at which privacy altcoins are pumping right now.
Zcash ($ZEC)
Zcash ($ZEC) is the first of today’s privacy coins. It was launched in 2016 and it’s a Bitcoin fork. It offers you an extra option besides transparent transactions like $BTC. This extra option is to use shielded or private transactions. It uses a dual-address system. So, this allows you to choose whether a transaction is transparent or shielded. It’s one of the few privacy-focused coins that offer this option.
Privacy in money is normal. Cash and gold already proved that.
Zcash brings that same privacy into a portable, digital form, without sacrificing its role as a store of value.
Shielded $ZEC lets you transact publicly, while revealing nothing about yourself.
With Zcash, you… pic.twitter.com/cXacERLcN1
— Sr Peters (@SrPetersETH) November 2, 2025
Zcash uses zero-knowledge or zk proofs. Remember what these are? It’s a cryptographic method to prove something without revealing important information. For example, you can prove that you are over 18 to access a service without revealing your birthdate. To be more specific, Zcash uses zk-SNARKs. This is a Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge. You can use this to prove a transaction is valid without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount.
Fun fact: Zcash implemented zero-knowledge proofs in 2016.
Ethereum and everyone else only started screaming “zk this, zk that” years later.Zcash walked so zk-rollups could run.
Privacy isn’t a trend. It’s the foundation.$ZEC holders knew all along.
Cowabunga! pic.twitter.com/jQVbDpK1CL
— Michelangelo.zec ⓩ🛡️ (@BTCTurtle) November 3, 2025
Zcash’s price development is tied to narrative rotation and supply dynamics. Like Bitcoin, Zcash only has 21 million $ZEC. It also has a Bitcoin-like halving schedule. The most recent halving occurred in November 2024, cutting the block reward. The main factor, though, is a renewed market focus on privacy, as described before.
The current $ZEC price is $642. It’s up 17% on the day, and over the last year it’s up by a staggering 1,335%. Since early October, it did a 10x. Nonetheless, it’s still 80% away from its 9-year-old ATH of $3,191. However, before it can reach a higher price, I would expect a pullback first.
Dash ($DASH)
Dash ($DASH) also forked from Bitcoin, like Zcash. However, Dash did this back in 2014. It’s designed to function specifically as fast digital cash with low-fee payments. Dash also offers optional privacy features. It uses a two-tier network:
- •Miners secure the chain.
- •Masternodes enable features like instant settlement and mixing.
This is why Dash’s hybrid security model (PoW mining + ChainLocks secured by masternodes) shines.
Dash is 51% attack-hardened by staked masternodes, and has instant permanent finality: no need to wait for confirmations, as transactions are already irreversible instantly. https://t.co/DaY3D82Upi
— Dash (@Dashpay) July 26, 2025
Its optional privacy comes through a CoinJoin-style mixing feature. This used to go by the name of PrivateSend. However, it is not encryption and does not hide the blockchain.
During the Dash era, this feature was improved many times.
Mixing rounds more than doubled, speeds improved dramatically, rounds randomized, and various other improvements.
It’s simply known as CoinJoin today, but it’s a significantly more advanced iteration than most. pic.twitter.com/9PamXZJxAR
— Dash (@Dashpay) November 6, 2025
Instead, it simply mixes coins among users through masternodes. As a result, transactions become harder to trace. Let me clarify this. It combines inputs from various users into a single, large, collaborative transaction. So, you can’t determine which input belongs to which output. Outside observers or blockchain analysis tools can’t trace the flow of specific funds.
In 2024, Dash privacy got two significant boosts:
1: CoinJoin was added to the mobile wallets with a set-it-and-forget it option, giving always-available confidential funds.
2: Usernames (stealth addresses) were added, which let you pay a contact without exposing your address. pic.twitter.com/UF6f4CaJGi
— Dash (@Dashpay) November 6, 2025
Like Zcash, Dash ($DASH) is pumping because the privacy narrative is resurging. Liquidity rotated back into older payment-based coins. The recent technical breakouts have triggered momentum. There’s also a big overhaul on Dash’s confidential payments in the pipeline.
The current $DASH price is around $80. $DASH didn’t start pumping until early October. Over the last 30 days, it’s up by 131% and over the last year 219%.
Railgun ($RAIL)
Railgun ($RAIL) is a decentralized privacy protocol and smart-contract system. It’s designed to bring ZK privacy to on-chain assets. You can also use it in DeFi across EVM-compatible networks. It allows users to “shield” tokens or NFTs. So, you can move them into a private pool. Here you can transact, swap, lend etc. without revealing addresses, amounts, or links.
It is chain-agnostic. It’s not limited only to EVM chains. However, today it is primarily deployed on EVM ecosystems. It uses advanced cryptography and smart contract design to enable privacy. Railgun uses zero-knowledge proofs like ZK-SNARKs or similar. This allows verification of ownership or transaction validity without revealing details.
RAILGUN uses ZK-SNARKs to keep your transactions private while staying fully onchain: Self custodial, no admin keys, no bridges, and no standalone chains.
New wallet and SDK integrations with this tech stack are making privacy normal again, and it’s about time.
— RAILGUN – Private & Anonymous DeFi (@RAILGUN_Project) October 19, 2025
This is how shielding works. A user sends tokens into a “shielded pool” (private address) via a smart contract. Once inside, balances, transactions, and addresses are encrypted/obfuscated. The system supports complex DeFi interactions. Think of swaps, various assets, or automatic mixing. The more usage, the more “noise” in the pool, which increases anonymity.
Private DeFi, not just private tokens.
— RAILGUN – Private & Anonymous DeFi (@RAILGUN_Project) October 30, 2025
Vitalik Buterin endorsed Railgun. That helped, combined with the current privacy boom. The $RAIL price is $4.89. $RAIL started to take off in early October. It’s almost 40% up on the day.
Conclusion
So, which one is your favorite privacy coin? And do you agree that privacy is not optional, but should it be a right?