Core Insights - Monero (XMR) continues to show resilience despite facing significant delistings and regulatory pressures, with a growing usage particularly in darknet markets [1][5] Exchange Delistings - In 2025, Monero experienced one of its most significant delisting waves, with 73 exchanges removing the asset, including major platforms like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken [2] - Exchanges have either completely eliminated XMR trading pairs or restricted them in regions with regulatory oversight, impacting its availability [2][3] Regulatory Environment - Regulatory actions have led to Kraken halting Monero services for customers in the European Economic Area due to updated regulations, with similar trends observed in Canada and parts of Asia [3] - Countries like Japan, South Korea, and Australia have expressed concerns over Monero's anonymity features, contributing to the regulatory scrutiny [3] User Behavior and Market Shift - Users are increasingly turning to DeFi platforms for atomic swaps or peer-to-peer networks instead of traditional centralized exchanges for XMR transactions [4] - Monero's privacy features, such as stealth addresses and ring signatures, differentiate it from transparent blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, maintaining user privacy [4] Darknet Market Adoption - The TRM Labs report highlights that in 2025, 48% of new darknet platforms accepted only Monero, indicating a strong demand and increasing market share in this segment [6] - Monero is becoming the preferred currency for certain ransomware operations, although Bitcoin still dominates ransom payments due to its higher liquidity [6][7] On-Chain Activity - Despite the delistings, Monero's on-chain transactions and daily network activity have remained consistent, showcasing its resilience [8] - Darknet marketplaces are increasingly favoring Monero as the exclusive payment method, further solidifying its position in this niche [8]

Once again, Dash is an absolute development powerhouse.We're building the future, anon. Come join us.Santiment (@santimentfeed):🧑‍💻 Here are crypto's top 10 privacy coin projects by development. Directional indicators represent each project's ranking positioning since last update:➡️ 1) @dashpay $DASH 🥇➡️ 2) @nym $NYM 🥈➡️ 3) @hoprnet $HOPR 🥉📈 4) @monero $XMR➡️ 5) @decredproject $DCR📈 6) @firoorg https://t.co/MTS2o6m2QL ...

Core Insights - Zcash is positioned as a potential successor to Bitcoin, incorporating privacy features that Bitcoin lacks [1][6] - With a current market cap of $6.8 billion, Zcash presents a significant investment opportunity if it gains traction similar to Bitcoin [2] Group 1: Similarities and Differences - Zcash shares key characteristics with Bitcoin, including a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism and a capped supply of 21 million ZEC coins, with halving events occurring approximately every four years [4] - The supply dynamics that have historically benefited Bitcoin also apply to Zcash, which has seen a 160% increase over the past five years [4] - Zcash introduces privacy features through zk-SNARKs, allowing transactions to remain confidential, contrasting with Bitcoin's public transaction model [7] Group 2: Development and Market Position - Zcash has mechanisms in place for funding its ongoing development, although it remains a small fraction of Bitcoin's overall market size [8]

Core Viewpoint - The price of Zcash has significantly dropped following the departure of the entire team from the Electric Coin Company, which has raised concerns about the future of the privacy coin [1][2]. Group 1: Price Movement - Zcash's price has decreased by 18.2% in the last 24 hours, now standing at $397.27, and has fallen 24% over the past week [1]. - Despite the recent decline, Zcash had previously experienced a strong price increase of over 670% due to growing mainstream interest in privacy coins [1]. Group 2: Team Departure - Josh Swihart, the former CEO of the Electric Coin Company, announced that his entire team was "constructively discharged" due to disagreements with the majority of Bootstrap's board members [2]. - The departing team members, including Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai, were said to be misaligned with Zcash's mission [3]. - Swihart indicated plans to establish a new company with a similar mission of creating "unstoppable private money," although no specific details about the new project were provided [3]. Group 3: Governance and Protocol - The Zcash protocol remains unaffected by the team's departure, according to Swihart, who emphasized the need to protect their work from governance actions that conflict with the original mission of the Electric Coin Company [5]. - Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, a founding member and former CEO, reassured users that they can continue to use Zcash safely, highlighting the integrity of the board members involved [5]. - Zcash operates on a decentralized governance model, meaning that all upgrades require community approval, and it does not own or control the Zcash blockchain itself [6]. Group 4: Board's Position - The Bootstrap board clarified that they have been discussing external investment and alternative structures to privatize Zcash while ensuring compliance with U.S. nonprofit law and maintaining the long-term mission of Zcash [7].

Event Details - A Monero Meetup will be held in New York City on December 19 [1] - The meetup will take place at @PubKey from 5pm to 10pm [1] - The event is organized by @WebWipeMeDown [1] Target Audience - The meetup welcomes all "privacy coin" aficionados [1] - The event is themed around "Privacy Season" [1]

Market Performance - Privacy coin XMR's market capitalization reached $8 billion [1] - XMR posted gains of over 100% in the past year [1] - XMR is approaching its May 2021 all-time high market cap of around $8.6 billion [1] Competitive Landscape - XMR has overtaken ZEC to become the largest privacy coin by market capitalization [1]

grayscale filed for zcash etf after converting gbtc from a 50% discount to $30b in etf flows. market prices zero chance of zec approval despite grayscale's lawyers never filing blind. zec down 25% this week on privacy coin panic. same playbook that turned gbtc discount into billions ...

Privacy Coin Performance - Zcash generated the 2nd highest protocol fees across all blockchains last week, outearning every DeFi protocol except Ethereum [1] - Zcash trading near multi-year lows while generating top-tier fees represents an inefficiency [1] Privacy Infrastructure Development - Ghostpay and Hush Wallet just launched native privacy on Solana [1] - Ethereum Foundation made privacy a "first-class property" of the protocol [1] Market Trend - Transparent chains expose treasurers' strategies, driving demand for privacy infrastructure [1]

Investment & Acquisition - Cypherpunk Technologies acquired 203,775 ZEC at $245 per unit through a public equity structure [1] - The acquisition aims for 5% of the total ZEC supply [1] - Winklevoss led a $588 million funding round [1] Privacy & Market Impact - The company's strategy could potentially remove 30% of ZEC from exchanges, with 5% representing the target supply and an additional 25% remaining in the shielded pool [1] - The initiative marks the first corporate treasury solution for privacy coin custody via stock market access [1] - US entities are accumulating assets that are restricted in the EU [1]

Market Trends & Industry Dynamics - Ripple rejects IPO plans despite SEC victory, stating sufficient capitalization [1] - Jan3 CEO suggests Bitcoin's bull run is yet to begin, with BTC only marginally outperforming inflation as price dips below $100,000 [1] - Privacy coin Zcash ($ZEC) trades above $500 for the first time since 2018, driven by privacy advocacy [2] - Polymarket is accused of artificial trading, with Columbia researchers finding 25% of volume over 3 years was wash trading [2] - CFTC Acting Chair confirms potential launch of leveraged spot crypto trading on U S exchanges as soon as next month [2] Regulatory & Legal Developments - US appeals court rules FBI cannot be sued for wiping a hard drive containing 3,443 Bitcoin (approximately $345 million), in a case involving identity theft [1] - Senate reaches bipartisan deal to end US government shutdown [2]