This Crypto Sector Is Up 213% Since Bitcoin’s 2025 Peak

This Crypto Sector Is Up 213% Since Bitcoin’s 2025 Peak – One Coin Is Driving It

Much of that sector-wide gain comes down to one token, Zcash, which now represents about 62% of the privacy market.
ByWayne Jones

Privacy coins have climbed 213% since Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak even as BTC itself remains well below that high, according to a breakdown posted today by analyst Wise Crypto.

It is a narrow corner of the market, but one token in particular, Zcash (ZEC), has pulled the entire privacy sector into positive territory while most of crypto is still digging out of a year-long drawdown.

One Sector, but Mostly One Coin

Wise Crypto’s numbers show the privacy sector’s combined market cap growing from $7.1 billion a year ago to $33.6 billion now. Zcash accounts for roughly 62% of that total on its own, up 25x over the past year, with its market-cap ranking climbing from #82 to #7 at one point, though CoinGecko data currently places it at #9.

Glassnode data published last week also found something similar: that privacy was the only sector trading above its October peak, with every other category still underwater by double digits.

Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, ticker $ZCSH, crossed $500 million in assets within two weeks of launch, while Monero (XMR), the second-largest asset in the privacy category, has approximately doubled over the same stretch despite facing delistings from several exchanges.

Among the 25 biggest crypto assets, Wise Crypto noted that only four are still trading above their October levels: ZEC, HYPE, XMR, and WBT.

Investor Dan Tapiero told The Wolf of All Streets on September 11 that the moves in ZEC and HYPE this cycle show crypto isn’t just a Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana story anymore. “Zcash has been an enormous winner this year,” he said, pointing to broader activity building outside the three largest chains.

Source: cryptopotato.com