Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, including Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), and Dusk Network (DUSK), have posted significant gains against a broader crypto market slump that saw nearly $1 billion in positions liquidated. Over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin dropped 2.3% and most altcoins fell 3–10%, Dash rose 1.9% and Monero surged 8.3%. The privacy coin category as a whole is up 4% on the day and 13.1% on the week, according to CoinGecko data.
Monero, which hit a new all-time high last Thursday, is trading around $644. Dash is trading at $81.61, up 119% over the past week. DUSK saw an explosive move, surging over 118% in the past day and 354% in the past week.
Analysts point to a combination of short-term catalysts and a deeper narrative shift driving the rally. Rachel Lin, Co-founder & CEO of SynFutures, told Decrypt that the move was amplified after on-chain investigator ZachXBT flagged large amounts of stolen Bitcoin and Litecoin being converted into Monero, “which pushed volumes higher in a relatively thin market and helped drive prices to new highs.”
Beyond this immediate trigger, Lin noted a “broader re-rating happening across the privacy sector,” driven by intensifying global regulations, heightened on-chain surveillance, and compliance requirements. She also highlighted privacy coins' low correlation to Bitcoin as a selling point for investors.
Shivam Thakral, CEO of Indian crypto exchange BuyUCoin, framed the gains as defensive positioning amid geopolitical uncertainty, such as the threat of a reemerging U.S.-EU trade war. “The recent gains reflect defensive positioning, not speculative excess,” he said. Thakral added that crypto institutionalization has made public blockchains more traceable, increasing demand for opt-in privacy features.
Concurrently, Monero's price action is being closely watched on technical charts. Following a sharp corrective decline, XMR is testing a key weekly support zone near the EMA50 around $614–625. Resistance is seen at $640 and $665. Analyst Enri.hl @0xWhale noted early signs of stabilization at this support, suggesting the pullback may be a reset within a broader trend rather than a structural failure.
The exception to the privacy coin surge was Zcash (ZEC), which fell 6.8% on the day and 6% on the week, attributed to recent turmoil at its supporting entity, the Electric Coin Company.
