A Year After Bitcoin's Record: Why Zcash and Monero Rallied While BTC Fell

One year after the peak: the numbers as of October 6

On October 6, 2025, bitcoin set its all-time high at roughly $126,000 per coin; depending on the index, the record is listed between $126,080 and $126,198. Exactly one year later, as of October 6, 2026, BTC trades around $86,200–86,300. That is about 32% below the record and 30% below the price a year ago. By Yahoo Finance's math, bitcoin needs to climb another 46% to get back to its high.

Privacy coins had the opposite year. According to 24/7 Wall St., citing on-chain analytics platform Santiment, Zcash gained 741% over twelve months and Monero rose 77%.

Prices and yearly changes are from 24/7 Wall St. and Fortune as of October 6. Aggregators differ slightly on the percentage, mostly because of the hour at which the price is taken.

Zcash's market cap reached about $23.2 billion, making it the 10th largest cryptocurrency. Monero is worth about $10.6 billion. Together they equal roughly 2% of bitcoin, so this is a shift in interest, not a change of leader. Over the past week ZEC lost 2.5% and XMR added 4.3%.

In its trend review, Santiment put "breakouts in privacy coins" alongside demand for ETFs and institutional money. Veteran trader Peter Brandt compared the charts of several major coins on October 6 and called Monero his favorite by far, saying the coin has already absorbed the supply overhead. Brandt added that he trades price only and does not follow Monero's fundamentals.

Why privacy coins rose while bitcoin fell

Bitcoin is visible to everyone

Every bitcoin transaction sits on a public blockchain: amounts, addresses and the links between them are open to anyone. Analytics firms have spent years tying addresses to people, and a KYC exchange knows exactly who withdrew coins and where. For salaries, savings or paying a supplier, that level of transparency is awkward. So some people look for coins that do not put their payment history on display, and get them through a crypto exchange without registration straight to their own wallet.

Monero hides the sender, receiver and amount in every transaction by default. Zcash gives a choice: transparent addresses work like bitcoin, while Zcash shielded addresses encrypt transaction data. In September 2026, weekly shielded transactions on Zcash hit their highest level since 2022, so the coins are not only bought but actually used for privacy.

Fund money flowed into Zcash

On August 25, 2026, Grayscale converted its Zcash trust into the ZCSH exchange-traded fund. It is the first US ETF on a privacy coin: investors can buy exposure from a regular brokerage account, with no wallet of their own. The steepest part of the rally came in the weeks after launch, and in late September ZEC traded above $1,600. In Europe, 21Shares listed a physically backed ZEC product on Euronext on September 23.

Monero has no ETF, and in 2024 it was delisted by Binance, OKX and Kraken in Europe. That explains the different pace: XMR grew more slowly, on demand from its own users. We covered how the two coins differ in our Monero vs Zcash privacy comparison.

US pressure on privacy eased

On October 5, FinCEN, the US Treasury's financial crimes unit, withdrew two long-pending proposals: reporting on transfers to self-hosted wallets and rules on crypto mixing. Self-custody and private transactions are no longer treated as a suspicious class of activity on the US agenda. What was withdrawn and what still applies is in our piece on FinCEN dropping the unhosted wallet and mixer rules.

The decision came out only on October 5 and does not explain a year of gains. But it shows the backdrop: in 2026 the US regulator is backing off privacy, not pushing harder.

What is changing on the Zcash and Monero networks

Both coins are preparing major upgrades. Zcash is running the NU7 upgrade on testnet: blocks will come every 25 seconds instead of 75, part of the fees will be burned, and mainnet activation is targeted for November 5. Owners of old wallets should check their coins in the Sprout pool in advance; we explained what NU7 means for old ZEC in Sprout.

Monero is testing FCMP++. Today the real sender hides among 16 candidates per transaction; after the upgrade, every output in the network's history becomes a candidate, and there are more than 150 million of them. In early October the developers launched the third beta testnet for the upgrade.

Risks the same year revealed

A 741% gain in a year speaks to demand, but also to how wide the swings are. Keep these in mind:

• Volatility. Between September 26 and October 3, ZEC fell about 21%, from $1,653 to $1,304, according to crypto.news. Pullbacks like this are common for privacy coins.
• ETF outflows. In the week ended October 2, investors pulled $93.6 million from ZCSH. It was the first week of outflows since late August, leaving the fund with about $751 million in net assets. Fund money arrives fast and leaves just as fast.
• Delistings. Major exchanges drop privacy coins under regulatory pressure. In the EU, from July 2027, crypto service providers will be barred from keeping accounts that allow anonymizing transactions, including with such coins.
• Still far from the record. Even after the rally, ZEC is about 57% below its high from the first days of trading in October 2016 (around $3,192), and XMR is about 30% below its peak of roughly $798.

Last year's gains promise nothing about next year. This article is not investment advice: the decision to buy any coin is yours alone.

How to exchange BTC to Zcash or Monero without registration

If you hold bitcoin and want to move part of it into a privacy coin, you do not need a KYC exchange. VertEXchange has no accounts: we do not ask for email, phone or a login. You pick a pair, enter your own wallet address and see the rate and the final amount before you send anything. A fixed rate holds for about 15 minutes, so you have time to send your coins calmly. That is how you can buy Zcash with bitcoin and receive ZEC straight to your wallet.

Monero works the same way: just exchange BTC to XMR without registration and enter your XMR wallet address. What else matters:

• coins go straight to your address, the service does not hold them;
• if the exchange does not go through, the coins return to the refund address you provide;
• personal fields of the operation are deleted 24 hours after completion, and your exchange history is kept only in your browser;
• support chat is available on every page and works by exchange code.

FAQ

Why did Zcash grow more than Monero?

Since August 2026 Zcash has had a US ETF and an exchange-traded product in Europe, which brought fund money into the coin. After the 2024 delistings, Monero trades less on major exchanges and grew on demand from its own users.

What is the bitcoin price one year after its all-time high?

As of October 6, 2026, about $86,200–86,300, roughly 32% below the October 6, 2025 peak. To set a new record it needs to climb about 46%.

What is the Zcash ETF?

It is Grayscale's ZCSH fund, trading in the US since August 25, 2026. The fund holds ZEC, and investors buy shares through a brokerage account, without a wallet of their own.

Is it legal to own Zcash and Monero?

In most countries, yes: restrictions apply to exchanges and crypto service providers, not to holders. Check the rules in your own country separately.

What are the risks of holding privacy coins?

Sharp pullbacks, exchange delistings and fund outflows. For example, ZEC fell about 21% between September 26 and October 3.

Can I swap BTC to ZEC without registration?

Yes. With VertEXchange you only need your own wallet address: no account, email or phone, and the coins arrive straight to your address.