Privacy coins show opposite trends
Zcash and Monero, two major privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, moved in different directions on Monday while the broader crypto market stayed relatively quiet. Bitcoin maintained its position just above $92,000 as traders waited for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting. Other major coins like BNB, Solana, and XRP followed Ethereum’s modest upward movement.
But here’s the thing—most altcoins haven’t managed to rally significantly from their recent lows. Both Zcash and Monero remain well below their recent peaks, which makes their current divergence even more interesting to watch.
Zcash’s unexpected surge
Zcash jumped more than 12% in value, climbing from around $334 to nearly $400 at one point. According to market data, the privacy coin hit highs of $398 across major exchanges before settling around $383. That’s still far from the $700-plus levels we saw recently, but the momentum shift is noticeable.
What’s driving this? I think there’s growing interest in Zcash as a private alternative to Bitcoin. The number of shielded transactions has increased, which suggests people are actually using its privacy features. There’s also been a shift in market sentiment—Zcash went from being a laggard to breaking into the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Futures open interest for ZEC sits at about $783 million, down from $1.3 billion in November. But speculative activity remains strong—over $10 million in liquidations occurred in the past 24 hours. Interestingly, about 80% of those liquidations were short positions, meaning traders betting against Zcash got caught off guard by the sudden price jump.
If Zcash can break through the $400 resistance level, we might see it push toward $500 and potentially challenge year-to-date highs. On the other hand, if it drops below $370, sellers could regain control.
Monero struggles continue
Monero tells a different story. The privacy coin dipped in the past 24 hours, falling to lows around $360 earlier in the day. It’s currently trading near $372, down nearly 2% for the day and about 10% for the week. That’s quite a contrast to Zcash’s 11% weekly gain.
Monero has posted four consecutive bearish daily candles, and bulls are trying to prevent a fifth. The coin has lost most of its November gains that took it to $470, and now sits vulnerable around $360. If support fails here, we could see further declines.
The broader market pressures affecting altcoins seem to be hitting Monero particularly hard. It’s trading in what appears to be a broadening wedge pattern, with the $400 area acting as a key resistance level that bears have defended successfully.
Futures open interest for XMR has contracted to $54 million, down from $67 million earlier this month and a recent peak of $98 million in November. The token also shows a double-top formation around $435, which technical analysts might interpret as signaling a potential drop toward $335 support.
Market context matters
All of this happens against the backdrop of anticipation for the Federal Reserve meeting. Crypto markets often react to macroeconomic signals, and privacy coins might be responding to different factors than the broader market. Zcash’s surge could reflect specific interest in its technology or adoption trends, while Monero’s decline might relate to its own technical patterns or market positioning.
It’s worth noting that privacy coins sometimes move independently from the rest of the crypto market. Their value propositions differ from mainstream cryptocurrencies, and their user bases might have different priorities. The divergence between Zcash and Monero today shows that even within the privacy coin category, individual projects can follow very different trajectories based on their own fundamentals and market dynamics.
