Privacy coins are having a moment
There’s never a dull moment onchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:
Bitcoin revisited $97K. Also, the latest updates on a major crypto bill in Congress.
Privacy coins are having a moment. What they are and why they’ve been outperforming other major crypto assets.
Stablecoins set a staggering record in 2025. And more key stats from around the cryptoverse.
MARKET BYTES
Bitcoin jumps past $97K as traders seek “haven” assets
Amid a flurry of macroeconomic news, BTC climbed above $97,000 on Wednesday morning, up nearly 7% for the week. ETH, also up roughly 7%, broke $3,400, and a variety of other altcoins also saw gains, with privacy-focused tokens emerging as a particular area of interest for traders (more on that in our second story).
Even memecoins have seen a boost in trade volume, with activity on the Solana-based platform Pump.fun (which allows anyone to launch a token) setting a new daily high recently.
What economic news has been impacting markets, and what’s the latest with a key crypto bill sitting in the U.S. Senate? Let’s break it down…
What macro headlines impacted crypto markets this week?
Analysts pointed to a variety of factors — including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, growing protests in Iran, and the battle over interest rates in the U.S. — to explain crypto’s uptick this week, all of which could be helping BTC appeal as a safe haven trade.
“Political and economic turmoil in nations like Venezuela and Iran could spur a new wave of demand for assets outside of the traditional finance ecosystem,” as CoinDesk put it.
Meanwhile, analysts are also paying close attention to new U.S. economic data that showed cooler than expected inflation.
Crypto prices climbed following the report, but many market watchers suggested that the data raises the odds that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates cautiously, despite the White House’s increasing pressure on the central bank’s leadership to slash rates quickly.
Steady state... “With low unemployment, growth running above trend, fiscal stimulus providing an offset, and inflation remaining above target, the Fed can comfortably keep rates on hold this month and likely over the next few meetings,” one analyst told Bloomberg.
Senate prepares to debate latest draft of major crypto bill
On Monday night, the Senate Banking Committee released a new draft of a major crypto bill. (The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill last summer.)
“[The CLARITY act] seeks to clarify the Securities and Exchange Commission’s and Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s roles in regulating cryptocurrencies, in addition to creating more well-defined token classifications,” noted CNBC. “It also aims to outline registration and compliance standards for a wide range of crypto brokerages, exchanges and other entities, enabling them to operate more easily in the U.S.”
While the crypto industry has long called for the creation of such a market structure bill, some key language remains under debate. An earlier version of the bill used language that could have restricted many crypto-native firms from offering stablecoin rewards.
The latest version includes new language that CoinDesk describes as “a constructive way forward on an issue that had locked up the negotiations.”
What happens next? The Banking Committee is scheduled to debate the bill and consider amendments on Thursday. The Agriculture Committee, which is working on its own version of the bill, will meet later this month.
PRIVATE BENJAMINS
What are privacy tokens and why have they been outperforming?
Most of the big cryptocurrencies you’ve heard of — like BTC, ETH, and Solana — saw their prices dip sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025, ending the year lower than they started.
But one category of lesser-known tokens defied that trend: so-called “privacy tokens” like Zcash and Dash. And so far in 2026, that same category remains one of the best performing in all of crypto.
As the name suggests, privacy tokens are designed to maximize user and transaction anonymity — traits that appear to be growing in demand. “As blockchains are integrating more deeply into traditional finance, the need for better privacy tools is becoming obvious,” said a recent Grayscale report.
So, what exactly are privacy tokens, how do they work, and do market watchers believe their rise will continue? Here’s what you need to know.
What are privacy tokens?
Most blockchains — like Bitcoin and Ethereum — offer a public record of every transaction. While the specific users aren’t identifiable, every transaction is recorded publicly for maximum transparency.
Privacy tokens work differently. Their blockchains allow users to hide certain transaction details, like the sender, recipient, transaction amount, and wallet balances.
Some of these tokens, like Zcash, rely on a type of cryptography known as zk-SNARKs, which allow the network to ensure that the necessary conditions for a valid transaction are met (like a wallet having enough funds) without exposing any personal data.
Others use “ring signatures” to hide the true sender by mixing their transaction in with multiple other transactions.
Advocates say that privacy tokens are critical to helping people control what information they share with companies and governments, and note that they help enable a level of digital-economy privacy already enjoyed by those who use physical cash in the real-world economy.
How successful have privacy tokens been recently?
In 2025, privacy tokens were some of the best performers in all of crypto. The category was led by Zcash, which gained 861% last year — rising in a six-week span between October and November from $74 to just above $734.
At the time, analysts said the rally could be attributed to a renewed focus on one of crypto’s oldest values: the right to transact without surveillance. In a world full of constant data collection, and where crypto is seeing adoption from banks, corporations, and governments, digital privacy “is being re-framed not as secrecy, but as self-protection,” said CoinDesk.
That, plus significant improvements in the usability of privacy networks, have helped bring privacy tokens back into focus. According to Grayscale, six of the top 20 performers in Q4 of last year were privacy tokens, including ZEC, DASH, and BAT.
What’s the outlook for 2026?
Analysts believe that privacy will continue to be a dominant narrative throughout this year and beyond, especially as demand grows for more robust privacy infrastructure on blockchains.
“Almost everyone has an expectation that their paychecks, taxes, net worth, and spending habits will not be visible on a public ledger,” as Grayscale put it. That demand for financial confidentiality, said Grayscale, will influence how capital is allocated, especially as crypto becomes increasingly regulated.
Venture capital firm a16z echoed those sentiments in a recent report, noting that privacy infrastructure will likely emerge as a core pillar of the next generation of crypto technology and become a differentiating feature between blockchains.
What are some risks for privacy coins?
Global regulatory challenges represent the biggest risk to privacy-focused tokens, some analysts say.
Dubai recently placed limits on privacy tokens, and the implementation of Europe’s crypto regulatory framework has raised concerns about potential limits on the usage of privacy coins.
Still, analysts see demand continuing to grow.
“Privacy coins are a growing narrative because financial privacy is becoming a structural requirement as blockchain adoption matures and regulations tighten,” said Jason Fernandes, market analyst and co-founder of AdLunam. “Markets are rewarding protocols that embed privacy at the base layer as opposed to traditional transparency-first models. ”
NUMBERS TO KNOW
$33 trillion
Total volume that stablecoins processed in 2025, led by USDC with $18.3 trillion, according to Artemis Analytics data. The record surge in stablecoin use in 2025 was boosted by regulatory clarity from the U.S. GENIUS Act, as well as adoption by payment giants like Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and PayPal. Bloomberg Intelligence projects that global stablecoin volumes could reach $56 trillion by 2030.
$1.25 billion
The value of the 13,627 BTC that leading bitcoin treasury company Strategy added to its balance sheet over the last week, its largest purchase since last July. For those of you keeping tabs at home, that brings the firm’s total to 687,410 BTC, worth roughly $68 billion as of Tuesday.
$250 million
Amount that Polygon Labs recently spent to acquire two crypto payment firms with the goal of building a comprehensive “Open Money Stack.” By acquiring Coinme and Sequence, Polygon Labs says it’s enabling “licensed fiat on- and off-ramps, enterprise wallets, and onchain orchestration in one integrated solution.”
32%
Percent of financial advisors who reported buying crypto for clients in 2025, up from 22% in 2024, according to a new report from BitWise that tracks advisor attitudes toward crypto.
25%
Odds, as of Wednesday Jan 14., that the Seattle Seahawks will hoist the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LX, according to Coinbase’s prediction markets platform. The L.A. Rams sit in second with 20%, and the Buffalo Bills in third with 15% odds. Coinbase recently announced prediction markets alongside a slew of new products at December’s System Update product showcase.
TOKEN TRIVIA
What is the most secure form of two-factor authentication?
A
Authenticator apps
B
Hardware keys
C
SMS codes
D
Face ID
Find the answer below.
Trivia Answer
B
Hardware keys
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