Cryptocurrencies with privacy protection at their core are becoming a new focus for investors. These tokens have recently experienced a surge in price, becoming one of the most watched token categories.
According to data from cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko, the total market capitalization of major privacy coins such as Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) is currently around $22 billion (approximately 22 trillion Korean won), with an overall increase of 52.2% in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, competitor CoinMarketCap statistics show that the total market capitalization of this category is approximately $55 billion (approximately 55 trillion Korean won), with Zcash accounting for the largest share.
Zcash, a representative privacy-oriented cryptocurrency, was launched in October 2016. In early October of this year, its trading price was below $80 (approximately 100,000 Korean won), but within a month it surged 375% to $380 (approximately 480,000 Korean won). During this process, Zcash surpassed Monero in market capitalization, becoming the top privacy coin.
The EU's recent push for "chat control" legislation has raised privacy concerns due to the potential introduction of scanning mechanisms for encrypted messages. Meanwhile, Meta's restart of AI training based on European user data has fueled ongoing controversy regarding privacy violations. Against this backdrop, the surge in Zcash's price indicates a renewed focus on the need for technological privacy.
As global concerns about privacy grow, privacy coins, despite regulatory risks, are gaining attention as an alternative solution. The stronger the market's resistance to data surveillance, the greater the interest in such assets is expected to become.
