TLDR

• Privacy coins like Zcash and Monero surged in 2025, with ZEC up over 711% in three months after Naval Ravikant’s influential post calling it “insurance against Bitcoin”
• Major crypto investors including a16z Crypto and Coinbase Ventures named privacy as a key focus area for 2026, with a16z calling it “the most important moat in crypto”
• Regulatory pressure forced exchanges to delist privacy coins over AML/KYC concerns, but demand increased as users sought protection from surveillance and capital controls
• Zcash’s optional privacy features make it more compliance-friendly than Monero’s mandatory encryption, attracting institutional investors and regulated exchanges
• Emerging markets drive 81% of privacy asset…