Zcash and Monero enter the top 10 by market cap: Cardano is out, and Monero is fighting Chainlink for its spot
On October 11, 2026, two privacy coins at once landed among the ten largest cryptocurrencies, stablecoins aside: Zcash with a market cap of about $20.8 billion and Monero with nearly $10 billion. Cardano and Chainlink fell out of the ten. By the morning of October 12 Zcash had gained another 8% and passed Hyperliquid, while Monero and Chainlink keep trading places at the edge of the list, with about $200 million between them.
What changed in the top ten
On Sunday U.Today, citing CoinMarketCap data, recorded a reshuffle the ranking had not seen in a long time: three new names entered the top ten at once. The first six places stayed as they were: Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana and TRON. Below them came Hyperliquid with a market cap of about $21.6 billion, Zcash with $20.8 billion at a price of about $1,232, and Monero at about $530 a coin and nearly $10 billion in market cap. Cardano, at about $0.25, and Chainlink, at about $12.86, were left below the line.
One caveat: the top ten here is counted without stablecoins. In the overall ranking USDT and USDC sit in third and sixth place, but they are dollars on a blockchain with no price of their own, and comparing Zcash's rise with them makes no sense.
Not every exchange lists the two privacy coins, but you can buy them without one: a crypto exchange with no registration sends the coins straight to your wallet.
The top ten on the morning of October 12
CoinGecko data as of 06:54 UTC on October 12, 2026, excluding stablecoins and tokenized debt products:
| Rank | Coin | Price | Market cap | 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bitcoin (BTC) | $83,946 | $1,687 billion | -25% |
| 2 | Ethereum (ETH) | $2,563 | $313 billion | -33% |
| 3 | BNB | $754 | $100.4 billion | -34% |
| 4 | XRP | $1.41 | $89.0 billion | -40% |
| 5 | Solana (SOL) | $112 | $66.2 billion | -37% |
| 6 | TRON (TRX) | $0.33 | $31.6 billion | +5% |
| 7 | Zcash (ZEC) | $1,328 | $22.55 billion | +376% |
| 8 | Hyperliquid (HYPE) | $87.7 | $19.51 billion | +130% |
| 9 | Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.087 | $13.65 billion | -53% |
| 10 | Chainlink (LINK) | $13.41 | $10.28 billion | -22% |
| 11 | Monero (XMR) | $535.6 | $10.08 billion | +77% |
Cardano, with a market cap of $9.5 billion, sits lower still: the coin has lost 61% over the year.
Over 24 hours Zcash added 8.1% and climbed to seventh place, overtaking Hyperliquid. Monero rose 1.4%, but Chainlink gained 3.9% over the same day and took back the tenth line. The gap between them is about 2%. A spot like that can change hands several times a day, and aggregators also count circulating supply slightly differently: on Sunday CoinMarketCap had Monero in tenth.
Why privacy coins are outrunning the market
The right-hand column is the main thing in the table. The top five have lost between a quarter and 40% of their price in a year, and Dogecoin and Cardano more than half. Only three names are clearly in the green: Zcash, Hyperliquid and Monero.
There is no single reason for this, but the backdrop is clear.
- Transparent blockchains are showing their weak spots. In October the issuer of USDT froze the stablecoins in an entire protocol's vaults for three hours, and Cardano saw the launch of tokens that their issuing company can freeze and seize. Each such story is a reminder that on an ordinary blockchain everything is visible, and a token with an owner can be stopped.
- The coins themselves are being upgraded. Monero is preparing the FCMP++ upgrade, which will hide the sender among all of the network's outputs: it is being tried out on a testnet now. Zcash developers have named January as the target for post-quantum signatures.
- Regulators took a step back. On October 5 the US Treasury withdrew a proposed rule that listed coin mixing among money laundering threats.
None of these points can be called the cause of the rise; they are context. The privacy coin market is small, and relatively modest money moves prices in it.
Why Zcash's yearly gain is shrinking fast
A week ago, on the anniversary of bitcoin's record, ZEC's yearly gain was above 700%. On Sunday U.Today cited 441%, and on Monday morning CoinGecko shows 376%. The coin did not fall in that time: over the week it even rose a little.
The explanation is the starting point. In the first half of October 2025 Zcash was just beginning its rally, so the "year ago" price now rises every day. If the price stays where it is, the yearly percentage will keep shrinking. That makes market cap a better thing to watch than percentages: $22.5 billion is more than Chainlink and Monero combined.
What the ranking does not show
- How much you can sell. Market cap is the price multiplied by the number of coins in circulation. It says nothing about how large a sum the market can absorb without the price sagging.
- Where you can buy the coin. A place in the top ten does not bring Monero back to the largest exchanges. We have covered why exchanges are delisting Monero and where it is still available.
- How stable the price is. Zcash easily moves 8 to 10% in a day in either direction. On Sunday it was a plus.
- What kind of privacy the coin has. In Monero every transfer is hidden; in Zcash the owner switches privacy on. Anyone who wants it by default can swap Zcash for Monero and forget about settings.
If this news has you thinking about XMR for the first time, start with a wallet before you buy: we put together a separate guide on which Monero wallet to choose.
How to buy Zcash or Monero with no sign-up
At VertEXchange both coins are swapped with no account, email or phone number. You pick a pair, enter your wallet address and see the rate and the amount you will receive before you send anything. For ZEC you need a transparent address, which starts with t1 or t3; for XMR, an address starting with 4 or 8. The coins go straight to your address: VertEXchange does not hold them.
- The fixed rate holds for about 15 minutes while the transfer is being confirmed.
- You can set a refund address: the coins go back there if the swap does not go through.
- The personal fields of an operation are deleted 24 hours after it completes.
- A support chat is on every page, and questions are resolved by the swap code.
If you hold bitcoin, you can exchange BTC to Zcash without a trading platform. If you hold stablecoins, it is simpler to buy Monero with USDT TRC20 straight to your own wallet.
FAQ
What is Zcash's market cap rank?
As of the morning of October 12, 2026, seventh among coins excluding stablecoins, at about $22.5 billion according to CoinGecko.
Is Monero in the top 10 cryptocurrencies?
On October 11 it was, according to CoinMarketCap. On the morning of October 12 CoinGecko has it eleventh with a market cap of $10.08 billion, $200 million less than Chainlink.
Which coins dropped out of the top 10?
On October 11, Cardano and Chainlink. Chainlink returned to tenth place the next day; Cardano remains lower.
Why are USDT and USDC not in the ranking?
Stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, so their market cap reflects how much has been issued and says nothing about a rise in price. In the overall ranking they sit in third and sixth place.
How much has Zcash gone up in a year?
By 376%, according to CoinGecko on October 12, 2026. The percentage is shrinking quickly because a year ago the coin was already rising.
Where can I buy Zcash and Monero?
Zcash trades on most large exchanges, while many of them have removed Monero. Both coins can be obtained through a swap to your own wallet with no sign-up.
No email, no account: enter your wallet address, send your coins and get the new ones straight to it.
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