Privacy and AI Tokens Lead Social Buzz as Crypto Market Rebounds

The cryptocurrency market is showing signs of recovery, with Bitcoin extending its rebound to $92,821.26, up 2.2% over the past week. Ethereum is trading at $3,176.26 while undergoing its Fusaka network upgrade aimed at improving speed and efficiency.

Amidst these broader market movements, market analyst Phoenix Group has identified the tokens generating the most significant social media engagement, a key indicator of renewed investor interest. According to data from LunarCrush, the top 10 coins by social activity this week are Zcash (ZEC), Sapien (SAPIEN), Bittensor (TAO), Merlin Chain (MERL), Dash (DASH), Plasma (XPL), Ethena (ENA), Curve DAO (CRV), ZKsync (ZK), and Monad (MON).

Zcash (ZEC), one of the oldest privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, recorded the highest social activity over the past week. This surge in discussion points to growing investor demand for assets with built-in privacy features.

Sapien (SAPIEN), a decentralized AI data platform, ranked second. Its price has surged 15.5% over the past week and 14.2% over the past month, a rally fueled by its recent listing on Binance and the ongoing AI narrative, driving adoption for Web3 and AI model training.

Bittensor (TAO), another AI-driven token, took the third spot. Investor interest is being catalyzed by its upcoming first halving event, scheduled for December 12, 2025, which is seen as a crucial moment for the AI-token ecosystem.

Merlin Chain (MERL), a Bitcoin Layer-2 solution, is also attracting significant enthusiasm. Its price is up 30% over the past week and 20% over the past month, currently at $0.3777. This follows a network upgrade on November 7 that enhanced scalability and ZK-rollup effectiveness, alongside its integration with the Sui blockchain and new Bitcoin DeFi functionality via M-BTC bridging.

Dash (DASH), another privacy coin, rounds out the top five. Despite its price being down 21.7% over the past week, its social popularity is rising. This shift in sentiment towards privacy coins like Dash and Zcash is partly driven by anticipation of stricter government reporting and transparency standards set for 2026.

This analysis follows a recent market event where privacy coins spectacularly defied a broader crypto crash. On Tuesday, while Bitcoin fell 17% from its yearly high, Decred (DCR) skyrocketed 238% to $62, Dash (DASH) rocketed 70% to $147 in a single day, and Zcash (ZEC) added 22%. The privacy coin sector's market cap jumped 18% in 24 hours to $17 billion, signaling a fundamental investor shift towards assets offering financial privacy and regulatory resilience. Analysts note Dash is testing a key seven-year resistance level, and Zcash's prior integration with Grayscale trust products has provided institutional legitimacy.