Zcash leads the hype – but Monero (XMR) quietly dominates in the areas that matter

Privacy coins have emerged as one of the dominant narratives shaping cryptocurrency investment trends this year. The two leading altcoins in this sector in terms of volume and market capitalization are Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR).

Investor interest has been largely focused on ZEC. Meanwhile, XMR continues to show strong and steady growth.

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XMR outperforms ZEC in many aspects despite its lack of spotlight

In terms of daily spot trading volume in December, ZEC performed exceptionally well.

Second For the CoinGecko siteZEC maintains a daily trading volume of approximately $1 billion. This level exceeds XMR and DASH, thanks to strong liquidity in major exchanges like Binance.

However, ZEC is far behind in daily transactions on the chain. Data from BitInfoCharts shows that XMR averages about 26,000 transactions per day. This number is more than three times the ZEC average of about 8,000 transactions per day.

The chart also indicates that XMR activity on the chain remains flat in the long term. This trend reflects a stable user behavior. In contrast, ZEC’s recent rise and sharp decline seems more like a temporary emotion.

Chain activity carries a longer connotation than spot volume. It reflects actual usage patterns and user acceptance of XMR for anonymous transfers rather than short-term business sentiment.

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In addition, the price of ZEC fluctuates due to increased volatility resulting from speculative trading. XMR price movement remains more stable.

TradingView data shows that The ZEC index fell by more than 40% During the past month. Many analysts are now suggesting a possibility bubble pattern. Meanwhile, XMR fell by about 12%.

From this perspective, it suits traders who are chasing the privacy coin narrative and looking for quick profits during extreme FOMO cycles. The downside is a deeper price drop and longer recovery periods.

Furthermore, the latest report from MEXC Research strengthens XMR’s position. Over longer periods of time, XMR shows superior trading volume and user activity compared to ZEC and DASH.

“Although ZEC and DASH recorded record trading volumes, Monero remains a favorite asset among privacy coin traders, accounting for 93% of total trading volume in Q3 and Q4 and 72% of users in this segment.

The report also notes that the growing interest in privacy assets reflects users’ growing need for privacy as regulators tighten capital controls.

Therefore, regardless of owning ZEC or XMR, investors can continue to profit in the coming year. expected Experts expect that privacy coins will remain a dominant narrative in the market in 2026.