Monero Reclaims Top Spot as Leading Privacy Coin Amid Zcash Team Departure

Monero leads privacy coins again, nearing price record amid Zcash crisis.

Monero (XMR) has once again topped the rankings of privacy cryptocurrencies, approaching its price record. The asset’s growth comes amid a crisis in the Zcash (ZEC) ecosystem.

At the time of writing, the XMR rate exceeds $462. This is 14.7% below the peak value of $542 recorded in January 2015. The asset has been growing steadily for several weeks, outpacing most competitors in the sector.

The current trend has reversed the pattern of the second half of 2025. At that time, investors preferred Zcash while Monero faced technical difficulties (a major block reorganization) and criticism over mining centralization. 

The situation has changed dramatically: ZEC plummeted by 15% in a day following the news of the departure of the entire Electric Coin Company team. The company’s CEO, Josh Swihart, explained the move as a conflict with the board of directors of the parent structure, Bootstrap.

Developers plan to create a new organization, but the sudden exit of the team has cast doubt on Zcash’s roadmap and development coordination. The uncertainty halted the asset’s rally and triggered a sell-off.

The main cause of the disagreements was an attempt to monetize the protocol, including the “privatization” of the flagship wallet Zashi. The Bootstrap board blocked these initiatives, fearing legal and corporate risks.

The departed team has already announced the launch of an alternative wallet, CashZ, based on Zashi’s code, promising users a simple migration.

“Non-profit organizations engage in red tape, while tech startups rewrite the rules,” said Swihart.

Data from Santiment confirms the project’s issues. Despite a 15-fold increase in ZEC’s market capitalization in the autumn of 2025, developer activity has dropped to 2021 lows since November.

📊 Unless you lived under a crypto rock, you likely watched the headlines pour in about Zcash in late 2025. The decade-old privacy coin multiplied its market cap by ~15x between September 22nd and November 16th.

🧑‍💻 However, we have been watching $ZEC‘s development activity… pic.twitter.com/MORo1sD7ix

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 8, 2026

In the past two months, the coin’s price has corrected by 40%. Analysts noted that a slowdown in development activity historically signals altcoins lagging behind the market.

Earlier, a16z crypto analysts stated that privacy will become the main competitive advantage for projects in 2026.