Important points:
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Zcash and Dash are leading a post-crash “privacy resurgence,” breaking a multi-year downturn.
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Monero did not participate in the rally due to its delisting from major exchanges.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH) have been among the biggest gainers following the October 9-10 crypto market crash, which saw a record liquidation of more than $20 billion in positions.
As of Thursday, ZEC had risen more than 66% from its October 9 lows to $246. It’s also up almost 350% year-to-date (year-to-date), and 230% in October alone.
DASH has rebounded more than 65% since its October 9 crash and was trading at nearly $50 as of Thursday. Meanwhile, last month’s return was nearly 150%.
Even Litecoin (LTC), which received a privacy upgrade dubbed “MimbleWimble” in 2021, has soared more than 80% from its local lows. However, it has lagged compared to most privacy coins this year, dropping about 7.50% in 2025.
These recent price increases have led some traders to declare so-called “dinosaur coin season,” with older coins (pre-2017) with a long history of underperforming in the crypto market making a strong comeback.
But what exactly is causing this rise?
Naval Ravikant’s Zcash endorsement
According to Messari’s list of 151 tokens, the market capitalization of privacy coins has increased by 36.70% since October 1, reaching more than $7 billion as of Thursday.
Privacy coins began to rise after prominent investor Naval Ravikant called Zcash “insurance against Bitcoin” in a post on October 1st, with ZEC soaring more than 60% that day.
After billions of leveraged positions were wiped out in the October 9 crash, the altcoin market reached its most oversold level since April, creating an attractive environment for bullish buyers.
So when Zcash rallied sharply following oversold conditions and Ravikant’s nod, it showed traders that the privacy coin market was ready for a recovery.
The result was a classic rescue rally in which privacy tokens rebounded sharply.
Related: ShapeShift brings back its focus on privacy with support for Zcash Shield
Monero (XMR), the leading privacy coin by market capitalization, missed out on such a sharp rebound. Due to its opaque design, it remains delisted or restricted on most major exchanges and some European trading platforms, including Binance and OKX.
These delistings have significantly reduced the company’s liquidity and visibility, limiting its upside potential when the broader market rebounds.
Technical reversal after several years of downtrend
The recent surge in the Dino coin marks a much-needed change in momentum, breaking out of a multi-year downward trend. This is similar to how XRP broke out of a seven-year consolidation trend in November 2024 and has since risen over 630%.
Both Zcash and Dash have broken out of multi-year falling wedge patterns, a bullish reversal setup that often precedes a strong upward continuation.
ZEC confirmed a breakout this month after surging through the $200-$220 resistance zone and is now switching to new short-term support. This move marks the end of a seven-year downward trend and opens the door for a potential rally towards $490 in the coming months.
DASH has already entered its own breakout phase, reclaiming the $50 level for the first time since early 2024.
Further boosted by DASH’s 50-month EMA (red wave), a sustained close above this zone could validate the wedge breakout and set its sights on $760 and above in the coming months or years.
If DASH pulls back from the 50-month EMA resistance, the multi-month breakout setup could be invalidated or delayed.
LTC remains inside an ascending triangle pattern defined by a series of rising lows since 2022.
It repeatedly failed to break out of the $100-$150 range. However, a decisive break above this ceiling could trigger a cautious move towards the 1.0 Fibonacci retracement level around $375, which would fully reverse the losses from the previous cycle.
Collectively, these structures are reinforcing the “privacy return” narrative, with ZEC and DASH currently leading the way.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading moves involve risk and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.