How Privacy Prevailed In An Otherwise Dismal Q4 For Crypto 2025

Zcash’s price surged in the fourth quarter, rising from about $50 in mid-September to a peak near $700 by mid-November, CoinMarketCap data shows.

The performance coincided with a sharp increase in Zcash’s use of shielded addresses, which conceal transaction details such as the sender, recipient and amount.

While the Currencies subsector declined more than 15% during the quarter, it still significantly outperformed other segments, including financials, smart contract platforms, consumer and culture, and artificial intelligence.

Historically, defensive positioning within crypto markets has often centered on Bitcoin (BTC), which some investors have viewed as a form of digital gold during periods of macroeconomic uncertainty. In recent years, however, Bitcoin has tended to trade more closely in line with broader equity markets, particularly technology stocks.

That relationship showed signs of strain in the fourth quarter, as correlations weakened amid structural stress across the crypto sector, including the Oct. 10 marketwide liquidation event, which analysts have characterized as a “controlled deleveraging.”

Source: CoinTelegraph