Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies including Monero and Dash rose Thursday even as the wider market fell and roughly $1 billion in positions were liquidated. Data shows privacy coins were up about 4% on the day and 13.1% on the week, while Bitcoin slipped 2.3% and many altcoins fell 3%–10%.
Dash traded near $81.61, a roughly 119% weekly gain, and Monero hovered around $644 after hitting a new all-time high last Thursday. DUSK surged more than 118% in 24 hours and about 354% over the week.
The rally traced to both market moves and specific flows flagged by on-chain investigators, who said large amounts of stolen Bitcoin and Litecoin were converted into Monero, boosting volumes in thin markets (Ed. note: the flagged conversions increased trading activity). Rachel Lin, co-founder and CEO of SynFutures, said “which pushed volumes higher in a relatively thin market and helped drive prices to new highs.”
Analysts cite longer-term drivers too. Shivam Thakral of BuyUCoin said “Privacy coins tend to move counter-cyclically during periods of heightened uncertainty.” Market participants view privacy features as a risk-management tool amid rising surveillance and regulatory pressure.
Prediction-market users stayed upbeat on Bitcoin’s path, assigning an 83.7% chance to a $100,000 move, according to a Myriad market, while views on Zcash remain split per a separate Myriad market.
