What Are Privacy Coins? Monero, Zcash, and Dash Explained
So-called privacy coins use advanced techniques to shield details from public view, but they’ve come under increased scrutiny from regulators.
Market Cap (Mcap)
Rank
#13Mcap
$11.55BFully Diluted Mcap
$11.55BSupply
Circulating
18,821,032Total
N/ACreated On
Apr 18th, 2014All Time High (ATH)
ATH
$797.73ATH Change
-23.09%ATH Date
Jan 14th, 2026Total Value Locked (TVL)
TVL
N/AMCap to TVL Ratio
N/AFDV to TVL Ratio
N/AMonero Chart
Price
Volume
Market Cap
Other coins
Learn about Monero
What is Monero (XMR) ?
Monero is a cryptocurrency designed to keep transactions hidden from prying eyes. It uses a number of sophisticated techniques to prevent people tracking how money is spent. As a result it has become increasingly popular with users of the dark net.
Monero News
Oct 6, 2026
Markets
Bitcoin Falls Asleep, But Privacy Coins Zcash and Monero Are Waking Up
After weeks of Bitcoin turning heads and climbing the charts, the top of the crypto market is now barely moving. Bitcoin trades at $86,264.06, up 0.59% over 24 hours. Ethereum sits at $2,714.39, up just 0.34%. The whole market is worth just north of $3 trillion, essentially flat for the day, according to CoinGecko data. The rest of the 12 largest coins are drifting in roughly the same way. Solana gained 1.4% and XRP 1.07%, while BNB lost 0.41% and Tron 0.22%. Myriad: How high will Bitcoin go? Cl...
Sep 17, 2026
Law and Order
Revolut Hackers Demand $3M Monero Ransom, Threaten to Sell Customer Data: Report
A criminal group has put a 24-hour clock on Revolut, demanding $3 million in Monero or it will sell hundreds of customers' identity documents and transaction records to other criminals, the Financial Times reported. The demand, posted Wednesday on a website the group set up for the purpose, asks for "6,000 XMR / $3,000,000" and warns that otherwise "all the data will be sold, and the blood will be on your hands." Monero, a privacy coin, obfuscates sender, recipient and amount information using r...
Sep 9, 2026
Law and Order
UK Crime Agency Warns of 'Innovative Use' of Crypto by Launderers
Criminals are making "innovative use of crypto asset products to evade detection and move illicit value at scale," Britain's National Economic Crime Centre, a National Crime Agency unit coordinating the country's response to economic crime, said in its annual report, published this week. The line sits in a threat assessment describing laundering networks proliferating across borders and combining "novel and traditional" methods, moving money through the licit and illicit systems at once. Many or...
Sep 7, 2026
Law and Order
Malone Lam Faces Plea Hearing Over $245M Bitcoin Theft
Malone Lam, the 22-year-old Singaporean whom prosecutors identify as an organizer of the crew that took $245 million in Bitcoin from a single investor, is due in federal court in Washington on Tuesday for a plea agreement hearing. A man named in court filings only as Victim-7 was at home in Washington when callers claiming to be from Google and Gemini warned him his accounts were under attack. They talked him into installing remote desktop software and surrendering his security codes, then moved...
Aug 3, 2026
Coins
Crypto Privacy Tools Serve ‘Essential Protective Functions’: Report by ChangeNOW, CoinRabbit
Crypto privacy tools serve “essential protective functions” that restore a measure of financial privacy that has always existed in TradFi, according to a new report from non-custodial crypto platform ChangeNOW and digital asset management platform CoinRabbit. Building on data from sources including TRM Labs, Chainalysis, RAND Corporation and the authors’ own internal research, the report highlights the risks of data exposure on conventional public blockchains. They include financial access under...
Jul 16, 2026
Law and Order
Feds Arrest Florida Man Over Video Game Malware That Stole $220K in Crypto
Federal agents have arrested a Florida man they say helped run a scheme that smuggled crypto-stealing malware into video games, infecting thousands of devices and draining hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims' wallets. Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, was arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain—a count that carries up to a decade in prison—according to a 15-page federal complaint first reporte...
Jul 13, 2026
Law and Order
Chinese Prosecutors Float Treating Crypto Mixer, Privacy Coin Use as Sign of Money Laundering
An article in the official newspaper of China's top prosecutors' office has laid out a framework for prosecuting crypto money laundering, proposing that courts presume criminal intent when suspects use coin mixers and privacy coins, and that the state build a platform to sell off seized cryptocurrency. The piece ran in the theory section of the Procuratorate Daily, the newspaper of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and was written by two district prosecutors in Hunan province and a university...
Jul 2, 2026
Law and Order
Treasury Department Sanctions Over 130 ISIS-Affiliated Crypto Wallets on Tron
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned more than 130 cryptocurrency wallet addresses this week tied to ISIS, with the overwhelming majority operating on the Tron blockchain. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added 134 crypto wallets to existing sanctions on ISIS-K, the Islamic State's affiliate operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Of those addresses, 131 were on Tron and three on Monero. The sanctioned Tron addresses have received more than $1.4...
Jun 24, 2026
Law and Order
DOJ Seizes Huione Infrastructure Linked to Billions in Crypto Laundering
U.S. authorities have struck at the technical backbone of what they call one of the most prolific criminal marketplaces ever to operate online. The Justice Department on Tuesday announced the seizure of a cloud computing account used by subsidiaries of the Huione Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of helping to launder billions of dollars in proceeds from crypto investment fraud and cyber scams. The account hosted "backend infrastructure" for those subsidiaries, prosecutors said, letti...
Jun 16, 2026
Technology
7 Ways Businesses Are Using Crypto Swap APIs
For many wallets, fintech applications, and cross-chain platforms, embedded swap infrastructure has become a way to expand asset coverage, improve execution, and generate new revenue streams without taking on the complexity of operating an exchange. Instead of building liquidity systems from scratch, companies increasingly rely on crypto swap APIs (Application Programming Interface) that connect users to multiple liquidity sources while preserving existing user experiences. Real-world deployment...
Jun 15, 2026
Business
Philippines Issues Stricter Crypto Listing Rules, Bans Privacy Coins
The Philippines is tightening its grip on crypto markets once again. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued new coin and token listing guidelines requiring all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to implement rigorous due diligence and accreditation processes before offering digital assets to customers. In a memorandum signed by Deputy Governor Lyn Javier, the BSP said the rules are aimed at "promoting financial stability and protecting the financial welfare of customers b...
Mar 17, 2026
Markets
AI, Privacy Coins Lead Altcoin Rally as Bitcoin Tops $75K
Altcoins in the artificial intelligence and privacy sectors recorded significant gains following Bitcoin's extended recovery rally on Monday, triggering a broader risk-on rotation across crypto markets. Zcash surged 17.9% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data, while Midnight and Monero, posted gains of 4.1% and 3.3% on the day respectively. Meanwhile, AI coins including Virtuals Protocol and Near Protocol both ticked up by 3.8% over the past 24 hours. The rally follows Bitcoin's cl...
Feb 27, 2026
Business
Ban on Crypto Privacy Tools Would Be Counterproductive: UK Think Tank
A report from the world’s oldest defense and security think tank has warned against banning blockchain-based privacy tools, arguing that blanket prohibition would merely result in bad actors using noncompliant services. In a paper titled, ‘Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in the Crypto Industry,’ the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) highlighted a “need to balance compliance objectives” with the growing role of privacy-related protocols and platforms in the cryptocurrency sector....
Feb 16, 2026
Technology
Binance Founder CZ: Privacy 'Missing Link' for Crypto Payments Adoption
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has argued that privacy is the most significant unresolved challenge facing crypto, and that the industry needs to move faster to address it. Speaking on the All-In Podcast with venture capitalist and Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya last week, CZ said most digital assets fall short on privacy protections, leaving users exposed in ways that cash never would. "I think privacy plays a very fundamental role in our society," CZ said. "But right now, I also thin...
Feb 16, 2026
Business
Animoca Granted Dubai License Amid Stricter Crypto Oversight
Animoca Brands has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), clearing the way for the Web3 investment giant to offer broker-dealer and asset management services to institutional and qualified investors in and from the emirate. The licence, announced Monday, authorizes Animoca to operate across the broader emirate of Dubai, excluding the separate Dubai International Financial Centre, and is the latest move by the region to bu...
Feb 3, 2026
Markets
Privacy Coins Slide as Monero, Zcash Lead Losses
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies led losses across the digital asset market on Tuesday, with the sector falling sharply even as broader declines remained more contained. Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) were among the weakest performers in the top 100 by market capitalization, both dropping by about 8% over the past 24 hours. Monero and Zcash both posted sharp losses on the day, showing declines that were deeper than the broader privacy coin average of 5.8%, according to CoinGecko data. Monero is d...
Jan 19, 2026
Markets
Privacy Coins Monero, Dash and Dusk Defy Crypto Market Slump
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies including Monero and Dash have climbed despite a broader crypto market drop that liquidated nearly $1 billion in positions. Over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin dropped 2.3% and most altcoins are down 3% to 10%, Dash and Monero are up 1.9% and 8.3% respectively, while the privacy coin category is up 4% on the day and 13.1% on the week, according to CoinGecko data. Dash is trading at $81.61, up 119% over the past week. Monero, which hit a new all-time high last...
Jan 13, 2026
Markets
Crypto Privacy Coins Are Going Nuts: Will It Last?
Privacy coins haven't moved like this in years. Monero is up 54% on the week, Dash just posted a 39% single-day gain, and the entire privacy sector is suddenly outperforming every other niche in crypto. The question now is: Can it last? The catalyst appears simple on the surface: In late September of last year, traders’ attentions suddenly turned to the privacy coin Zcash, with trades as ZEC. Privacy coins, unlike standard cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, make it difficult if not impo...
Jan 13, 2026
Opinion
Morning Minute: Fidelity Calls Bitcoin 'Maturing,' Lays Out 2026 Bull and Bear Case
Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Today’s top news: Crypto majors are green to start week; BTC at $92k Monero (XMR) jumps another 15% and hits new ATH at $680 US Senate releases draft crypto market structure bill, prohibits stablecoin interest Saylor buys $1.25B in Bitcoin, biggest weekly purchase since July Fogo and Footba...
Jan 12, 2026
Markets
Monero Sets New Record Price as Privacy Trade Re-Emerges
Monero surged to a fresh all-time high on Sunday, lifting the privacy-focused crypto above $592 and reviving a corner of the digital-asset market that has largely traded on the sidelines of the latest rally. That's the highest the coin has been in eight years, following a breakout to $542 in January 2018, according to CoinGecko data. The asset is up 24% on the day and a further 40% on the week. The move extends a trend that began late last year, when privacy-linked tokens proved more resilient t...