Privacy coins just flipped the entire market narrative.
While $BTC and $ETH slipped, $ZEC is up more than 700% since October. Why is this happening now and what comes next for crypto narratives?
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The entire privacy sector is up +245% YTD, making it the strongest performing narrative in 2025.
Experts told BeInCrypto that the rally goes far beyond price action. It reflects rising surveillance, regulatory pressure, and a shift back to crypto by design projects that prioritize autonomy and privacy.
Nic Puckrin (@nicrypto), CEO of @coinbureau, links the surge to rising global capital controls.
He explains that $BTC and $ETH have lost their original cypherpunk focus on privacy and censorship resistance, becoming highly traceable assets instead.
He adds that $ZEC being up over 1,500% in a year naturally pulls in momentum traders.
Ray Youssef (@ray_noOnes), CEO of @noonesapp, links the rally to narrative rotation and macro tailwinds.
He says users are seeking assets that return autonomy without rejecting institutional capital altogether.
Rob Viglione (@robviglione), Founder of @ZKVProtocol & CEO of @HorizenLabs, says privacy is now moving into real economic environments.
Developers are integrating tooling directly into ecosystems where liquidity and users already live.
So what comes after privacy coins? Experts point to RWAs, DePIN, AI integrations, and utility driven sectors.
The next meta emerges when user demand, developer activity, regulation, and capital flows begin to align long before the mainstream notices.
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