Privacy coins are the only crypto sector trading above October 2025 levels, gaining 213% while Bitcoin remains 36% lower.

ZEC surged 2,496% over the year and now accounts for 62% of the privacy sector's $33.6 billion market capitalization.

Only 25 of the top 200 crypto assets are up year over year, while the median asset remains down 55%.

Privacy assets are the only crypto sector above their October 2025 level, according to Glassnode, while Bitcoin remains 36% lower. The sector has gained 213% since that high, led by ZEC, whose market cap ranking rose from 82nd to seventh. The data covers the top 200 assets across the market.

The outperformance stands out against the sector's regulatory backdrop. Privacy coins have faced years of exchange delistings tied to compliance concerns; Binance, for example, delisted XMR in early 2024, and several other major exchanges have removed privacy assets in recent years. That history makes the current sector-wide rally a notable shift from how these assets have been treated by trading venues.

Privacy Sector Pulls Ahead

Glassnode found that every other sector remains below its October 2025 level. DeFi is 27% lower, while Gaming is 74% lower. However, all 10 sectors posted gains over the past 30 days. Privacy led that period with a 90% increase, keeping it above the October level.

The sector has also expanded in size. Privacy coins among the top 200 were worth $7.1 billion a year ago. They now hold a combined value of $33.6 billion, roughly equivalent to Tron's market capitalization. Nearly half of that increase came during the past 30 days.

ZEC Leads Privacy Gains

ZEC rose 2,496% over the year and now represents 62% of the privacy sector's capitalization. The gains, however, extend well beyond ZEC. All eight privacy coins with one year of trading history have advanced.

Excluding ZEC, the cap-weighted privacy basket is up 85% over the year. It has also gained 56% since Bitcoin reached its October high. Over 90 days, DASH, XMR and ZEN each outpaced Bitcoin. XMR doubled during the same period in which ZEC recorded its sharp rise.

Wider Market Remains Lower

Among the 25 largest assets, only ZEC, HYPE, XMR and WBT remain above their Oct. 6 prices. Two of those four assets are privacy coins. HYPE is a single-name result within DeFi; without HYPE, DeFi is 46% lower on the year.

Meanwhile, major assets including ETH and DOGE remain below their October levels. Across the top 200, only 25 assets are higher on the year. The median asset is down 55%, while 91.5% gained during the past 30 days.

Glassnode said that marked the broadest 30-day gain in its history. The 30-day return spread across the 10 sector indices also reached its widest level since Nov. 20, 2025. The divergence between the sector indices leaves open the question of whether the recent breadth of gains narrows in the coming months, and whether privacy assets can hold their position above October levels as the rest of the market recovers.