Key takeaways:
Zcash and Dash are spearheading a post-crash “privacy revival,” emerging from prolonged downtrends.
Monero did not participate in the rally due to significant delistings on exchanges.
Privacy-centric cryptocurrencies, Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH), have shown notable gains following the recent crypto market downturn on Friday and Saturday, which resulted in over $20 billion in liquidated positions.
As of Thursday, ZEC had surged over 66% from its low on October 9, reaching $246. It has also experienced nearly 350% growth year-to-date (YTD), including a remarkable 230% rise in October alone.
DASH has rebounded by over 65% since the crash, trading close to $50 as of Thursday, with returns nearing 150% over the past month.
Litecoin (LTC), following a privacy upgrade in 2021 known as “Mimblewimble,” has also seen an increase of over 80% from its local lows; however, it remains down approximately 7.50% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
These recent price spikes have led some traders to declare a “dinosaur coin season,” where older coins (pre-2017) that have historically underperformed the crypto market are witnessing a bullish resurgence.
But what’s fueling this rally?
Naval Ravikant’s Zcash endorsement
The market capitalization for privacy coins has risen by 36.70% since October 1, surpassing $7 billion as of Thursday, according to Messari’s list of 151 tokens.
The rally for privacy coins began after well-known investor Naval Ravikant described Zcash as an “insurance against Bitcoin” in an October 1 tweet, resulting in a more than 60% jump in ZEC on that day.
Following the crash that eliminated billions in leveraged positions, the altcoin market reached its most oversold conditions since April, creating an appealing scenario for dip buyers.
When Zcash rebounded sharply, driven by these oversold conditions and Ravikant’s endorsement, it indicated to traders that the privacy coin market was primed for recovery.
This resulted in a classic relief rally, characterized by significant bounces in privacy tokens.
Related: ShapeShift revives privacy focus with Zcash shielded support
Monero (XMR), the top privacy coin by market cap, missed out on these sharp rebounds. It continues to face delistings or restrictions on most major exchanges, including Binance and OKX, as well as several European trading platforms, owing to its non-transparent design.
These delistings have severely impacted its liquidity and visibility, constraining its potential during widespread market rallies.
Technical reversals after multi-year downtrends
The “dino” coins that have recently surged are breaking out of extended downtrends, representing a long-hoped-for shift in momentum. This mirrors how XRP escaped its seven-year consolidation trend in November 2024, spiking over 630% afterward.
Both Zcash and Dash have emerged from prolonged falling wedge patterns, a bullish reversal setup that typically signals strong upside continuation.
ZEC confirmed its breakout this month by surging past the $200–$220 resistance zone, which it has transformed into new short-term support. This movement signifies the end of a seven-year downtrend and opens the possibility of a rally toward $490 in the forthcoming months.
DASH has already begun its own breakout phase, reclaiming the $50 level for the first time since early 2024.
A consistent close above this level, further assessed by DASH’s 50-month EMA (the red wave), could validate the wedge breakout, aiming for $760 or more in the months or years ahead.
DASH’s retreat from the 50-month EMA resistance may invalidate or postpone the multi-month breakout setup.
LTC remains within an ascending triangle pattern, characterized by a series of higher lows since 2022.
It has continually struggled to surpass the $100-$150 range. However, a decisive breakthrough above this resistance could trigger a measured move towards the 1.0 Fibonacci retracement level near $375, indicating a complete recovery of its losses from the previous cycle.
Collectively, these patterns reinforce the “privacy revival” narrative, with ZEC and DASH currently at the forefront.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
