Cryptopolitan

The mood in the crypto market may turn upside down in one day. Bitcoin looked healthy a week ago. The latter withdraws and merchants become wary. Ether can also hang at significant levels and when liquidity tightens, meme coins usually run out of steam. When this occurs, the focus tends to move to projects which appear to be in its early stages, but not quite complete.

That is the arrangement behind a new crypto name that is currently being followed more intimately: Mutuum Finance (MUTM). It is not under discussion as it is loud. It is under discussion since the construction appears to be organized, and the schedule is heading towards a live launch.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is developing a lending and borrowing protocol. The core idea is simple. The assets are provided by users to get yield. Collateral is used by the borrowers to take loans. It is a system that employs rates, caps and liquidations to remain in balance.

The project also outlines two lending channels. One of them is pooled lending (P2C), where liquidity is deposited in common pools. The other one is matching (P2P), in which lenders and borrowers can be more directly matched when possible.

Here is a simple example. P2C, there is a USDT pool with a supply amounting to $2,000,000 and a borrow amounting to $800,000. Provided that there is sufficient liquidity available, a borrower can borrow a commitment in the amount of $20,000.

Mutuum Finance has also made the story pegged on delivery timing. The team has indicated V1 Protocol deployment on the Sepolia testnet, and then making the final change to the mainnet, the time of launch has been described as arriving soon. In times of uncertainty in the markets, traders tend to favor projects that have a visible step ahead, rather than a vague future plan.

Participation Surge

Mutuum Finance is reported to have raised funds of $19.6M and some 18,750 holders. It also gives an approximate of 825M sold tokens. Such numbers are observed since they do not show a narrow focus on the number of people who participated in a specific short-lived peak.

At this point, increasing the number of holders may count a lot as much as capital. It implies the dispersion of distribution in a large number of wallets instead of moving into several. Cryptocurrency investment is where such a trend is usually considered an indicator of long-term attraction, particularly in cases where it persists throughout several phase price surges.

MUTM is listed at $0.04 in Phase 7 of Mutuum Finance. It started preselling in early 2025 at $0.01 in Phase 1. That is the reason why the move is described in the project as a 300% increment in stages. The structure is stage-based. The stages are characterized by fixed prices and fixed tokens. The second stage opened at a higher price when the first stage was sold out. That is how the token price steps up by the process.

An official launch price of $0.06 is also mentioned in Mutuum Finance. The attention of many traders to the pace of movement of later allocations is due to the current price level and the stage position. Since the stages later on are not able to supply at lower prices, the supply at the earlier prices will no longer exist and the next crypto stage will be more expensive.

The Timing Window

Lending procedures deal with security, credit, and liquidations. This is why security work is one of the points of focus. In cases where the liquidation reasoning is faulty, even a good loan will be liquidated. Bad debt may accumulate in case it is too loose. Either way, trust drops fast.

Mutuum Finance lists a CertiK token scan score of 90/100. It further adds that an independent audit of Halborn Security of its V1 lending and borrowing protocol was done. To make matters worse, the project offers a 50k bug bounty on code vulnerabilities. A bug bounty is important as it brings in the views of independent researchers to check the system before it is subjected to a greater load.

Certain market analysts opine that, should V1 roll out successfully and initial use develops, MUTM would experience a post-launch revaluation of between 3x and 5x relative to the present level. From $0.04, that implies roughly $0.12 to $0.20. This is an executive and demand-related view that is scenario-based.

That is why Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is appearing increasingly in new cryptocurrency and top crypto watchlists as the years go on to Q1 2026. The token has already made 300% progress since its initial stage, the project is still reporting to grow participation, and the V1 schedule is within a close range that it means that the market is already listening.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Meteora, the DeFi liquidity protocol operating on Solana, has shared a warning to community members who continue to drag their feet on claiming their MET token airdrops coming up on three months since its token generation event (TGE). 

During the TGE, Meteora distributed about 39% of the total supply to those eligible, according to tokenomics documentation. That was last year in October, and the team is back with another update on the airdrop, which they shared via X.

In 2025, Meteora generated over a billion dollars in platform fees, cementing its position as the top fee-generating platform in the entire DeFi ecosystem, with Jupiter and Uniswap following closely behind.

When is the deadline for Meteora’s airdrop claim?

In its tweet earlier today, January 8, the liquidity protocol reminded users that they had already distributed a significant percentage of MET tokens at one go, claiming that they did so to ensure that everyone who played a role in Meteora’s journey would be able to receive their tokens, without locking or vesting.

In line with that plan, the team says it is closing airdrop claims in two weeks, three months after the TGE. This is a new development; initially, the airdrop claim period was scheduled to last for six months.

“This allows the Meteora community, tokenholders, and more to move forward into 2026 alongside the product updates and features that are coming to Meteora,” the post reads.

Those who do not claim their allocation will lose it to the circulating community reserve, which they say will be used for future rewards.

The post ended by urging users to check their wallet eligibility for claiming tokens before January 23, which is the new deadline for claiming.

2025 was a good year for Meteora

Last year, the Meteora protocol contributed significantly to the DeFi sector, generating an impressive $1.25 billion in fees, which left no doubt about its position as the premier fee-generating platform in the entire DeFi ecosystem.

The financial milestone is proof of Meteora’s operational scale. However, it also signals a potential shift in the competitive dynamics of on-chain finance as the protocol’s performance notably outpaced that of established giants. It beat the likes of Jupiter, which ranked second with $1.11 billion, and the prominent Uniswap, which followed closely behind with $1.06 billion.

Analysts have noted that the top two DeFi products currently exist primarily on Solana’s infrastructure, while the third, Uniswap, operates on Ethereum, though it also has a multichain function. This is a direct testament to Solana’s rising prominence where high-frequency DeFi activity is concerned.

The diversity between all three entities is also notable; Meteora is famous for its dynamic liquidity AMM, while Jupiter is an aggregator, and Uniswap is no more than a classic DEX, which means they tackle various issues in DeFi.

Meteora’s “Dynamic Liquidity Markets” (DLMs) is one of the things that has helped it maintain its lead above the aggressively expanding Jupiter and the prominent Uniswap, which recently made a historical record for processing about $1.4 million in daily transaction fee capture following gains from the Truebit hack, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.

IA fizică a dominat CES în acest an, cu roboți, mașini inteligente și sisteme autonome peste tot. Doar patru ani după ce ChatGPT a adus inteligența artificială în conversațiile zilnice, accentul s-a mutat clar de la software-ul de pe ecrane la IA care se mișcă, ascultă și acționează în lumea reală.

La spectacolul din Las Vegas, aproape fiecare stand important a promis un viitor în care mașinile ajută la muncă, îngrijire și rutine zilnice. La CES, jucătorii mari din domeniul tehnologiei și automotive au avut oportunitatea de a arăta cum tehnologia AI poate și va fi integrată în modul în care trăim și lucrăm. Participanții au văzut roboti care joacă cărți, îndoaie hârtie și chiar dansează cu oamenii din public.

Terry Smith, a well-known British fund manager, has told investors his flagship fund struggled to deliver returns last year, earning less than what people could’ve made by keeping their money in cash savings accounts.

Smith said Thursday his £16 billion Fundsmith Equity fund managed just 0.8 per cent gains in 2025. That’s way below the global stock market benchmark, which climbed 12.8 per cent, and even came in behind the 4.2 per cent cash deposits offered. Other funds in the same category averaged 10.8 per cent returns, according to Investment Association figures Smith mentioned in his letter.

Tech dominance and index funds blamed for struggles

The fund manager warned investors they shouldn’t expect his fund to beat the market every single year. But he pointed out the fund’s done better over time. Since it started in 2010, Fundsmith Equity has beaten the benchmark index by 1.7 per cent each year on average.

Smith talked about several things that made last year tough. The big problem was seven massive American tech companies – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. People call them the Magnificent Seven.

“It was difficult to even perform in line with the index in recent years if you did not own most of these stocks in their market weightings, and we would not do so even if we became convinced that they were all good companies of the sort we seek to invest in, which we are not,” Smith wrote.

The fund does own three of those companies – Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft. Those three were actually among the top five performers in the portfolio last year.

Still, Smith made it clear he won’t buy shares in companies “simply because they are large and dominate the index weightings and performance unless we become convinced that they are good businesses of the sort we wish to own, which have long-term, relatively predictable sources of growth and more than adequate returns on the capital they invest”.

Smith also blamed the growing popularity of cheap index-tracking funds. He said huge amounts of money flowing into these products “gives added momentum” to large American tech stocks. “The increasing proportion of equities held by index funds is invested without any regard to the quality or valuation of the shares bought, which produces dangerous distortions,” he added.

The weakening US dollar didn’t help either. That hurts returns since most companies in the portfolio are American and make a lot of their money in dollars.

The fund focuses on quality growth companies and holds them for long periods. Investors pay a 1.04 per cent annual management fee.

Novo Nordisk proves most costly investment

Some holdings really hurt last year. Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Wegovy weight-loss medication, was the worst. It knocked 3 percentage points off the fund’s overall performance, making it the single biggest drag in 2025.

Smith wasn’t happy with how Novo Nordisk messed up its leading position. “The company has parlayed a market-leading position in what is probably the most exciting drug development for about three decades into a secondary position and has failed to prevent illegal generic competition in its core US market,” he wrote.

Other stocks that did poorly included American payroll company Automatic Data Processing, household goods maker Church & Dwight, Danish medical device firm Coloplast, and cybersecurity business Fortinet.

The Novo Nordisk situation made Smith share something interesting about his investment approach – he looks for businesses that can be run by “idiots” because it means success doesn’t depend too much on management. “We have been made painfully aware that the range of businesses which can be run by an idiot is much more limited than we thought, and hereafter we will aim to be more aware of the impact that poor management can have,” he admitted.

But Smith’s not giving up on Novo Nordisk yet. With a new boss and major board changes happening, the stock now trades at 13 times earnings. That suggests the market is “expecting very little” from it. “If we did not already own it, I suspect we would contemplate buying it as a good business which has been depressed by a ‘glitch’, albeit a rather large glitch,” Smith said.

He also admitted that trying to work with struggling companies “is less effective than selling the shares”, though he seems willing to hold on.

Smith wrapped up by repeating his main investment rules: don’t overpay and do nothing, meaning stay patient instead of trading all the time.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

Fundatorul Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, s-a declarat public în sprijinul lui Roman Storm, dezvoltatorul serviciului de amestec al criptomonedelor Tornado Cash, înainte de procesul de pedepsire a acestuia.

Storm a fost condamnat în august 2025 pentru conspirație în vederea desfășurării unei activități de transmitere a banilor fără licență, după un proces de patru săptămâni.

Într-o scrisoare postată pe X pe data de 9 ianuarie, Buterin, care a scris că confidențialitatea este „esențială pentru multe părți ale societății noastre, inclusiv cultură și politică, pentru a funcționa, fără a se degrada în jocuri sociale sau chiar coerciție”, a mai afirmat în aceeași scrisoare: „Dacă cineva are informații despre tine, are puterea de a te exploata – social, comercial sau chiar fizic.”

Piața criptomonede urmărește îndeaproape XRP și așteaptă o revizuire în Senat, care probabil va avea loc pe data de 15 ianuarie, pentru a permite XRP să ajute prețurile să crească spre 3 USD. Această dezvoltare a dus deja la o creștere a prețurilor și rămâne subiectul principal în piața criptomonede. Deși există previziuni pozitive privind prețurile criptomonede, problemele politice și reglementări continue să afecteze XRP.

În același timp, apare un nou proiect de criptomonede care câștigă o atenție semnificativă pe piață, nu doar din cauza valorii sale intrinseci create din aplicațiile sale din lumea reală, ci și din cauza primirii de recompense de la surse externe. Mutuum Finance (MUTM), o criptomoneda DeFi, folosește vânzarea sa rapid progresivă în combinație cu modelul său de afaceri din lumea reală pentru a deveni cea mai promițătoare oportunitate de investiții pe piață, bazată pe potențialul din lumea reală, în loc de simple speculații de piață.

O vulnerabilitate software recent dezvăluită în protocolul de staking Bitcoin Babylon a ridicat îngrijorări semnificative privind securitatea în întreaga ecosistemă criptomonede, cu dezvoltatori avertizând că flaw-ul ar putea permite validatorilor maliciosi să perturbe aspecte esențiale ale procesului de consens al rețelei și să încetinească producția de blocuri în perioade critice.

Pentru a ilustra intensitatea situației, reprezentanții responsabili cu dezvoltarea blocurilor au declarat că acest bug a afectat semnificativ extensia votului BLS, sistemul de semnătură a blocurilor din Babylon, care este esențial pentru a indica că validatorii au ajuns la un acord privind un bloc.

Parteneriat pentru Accelerarea Adoptării Globale a Ecosistemului Blockchain de Strată-1 CratD2C

VICTUS GLOBAL, o firmă de investiții Web3 și infrastructură pentru active digitale specializată în alimentarea economiei tokenizate, a anunțat astăzi un investiții strategice și un parteneriat de creștere a ecosistemului cu CratD2C, o platformă blockchain de generația următoare de strată-1 construită pe consensul Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS).

În cadrul acestui parteneriat, VICTUS GLOBAL va oferi sprijin strategic prin capital și execuție structurată a marketingului pentru a accelera extinderea ecosistemului CratD2C, vizibilitatea pe piață și adoptarea globală după lansarea recentă a MainNet-ului.

Comisia Europeană (UE) este raportată că analizează re-categorizarea platformei de socializare – serviciul de mesagerie WhatsApp, într-un mod care va face ca aceasta să fie mai responsabilă pentru gestionarea conținutului ilegal.

WhatsApp va fi de asemenea așteptat să abordeze conținutul dăunător de pe platformă, potrivit purtătorului de cuvânt al UE, în timp ce Comisia intensifică eforturile de a asigura că platformele de social media respectă cerințele blocului, variind de la abordarea conținutului dăunător și reglementările privind confidențialitatea datelor.

Începând cu februarie anul trecut, aplicația de mesagerie a fost a 26-a platformă online supusă cerințelor de transparență în conformitate cu regulile platformei Comisiei.

Binance a încheiat anul 2025 cu un volum total de tranzacții de 34 de trilioane de dolari, potrivit datelor publicate în raportul anual Binance 2025.

Schimbul a declarat că acest număr arată cât de central a devenit pentru cumpărarea și vânzarea de monede digitale în întreaga lume.

Puterea flywheel-ului

Compania a explicat că succesul său a venit din ceea ce numește un flywheel de lichiditate. Iată cum funcționează: când mulți oameni tranzactionează pe platformă, costurile scad. Costuri mai mici atrag mai mulți tranzactionatori. Mai mulți tranzactionatori înseamnă prețuri chiar mai bune și spread-uri mai strânse. Această ciclu s-a repetat de-a lungul întregului an.

Un judecător dintr-un tribunal din Mumbai l-a convocat pe investitorul și antreprenorul indian Raj Kundra în legătură cu presupusele sale legături cu o scam de criptomonede. Autoritatea de Executare consideră că antreprenorul a fost implicat în scama de criptomonede GainBitcoin și susține că a primit 285 de Bitcoin ca venit din infracțiune.

Curtea Specială din Mumbai l-a convocat pe omul de afaceri indian Raj Kundra în legătură cu presupusa sa implicare într-un scheme piramidale de criptomonede. Autoritatea de Executare (ED) l-a numit pe el și pe un alt inculpat, omul de afaceri din Dubai Rajesh Ram Satija, pentru fapte prevăzute de Legea de prevenire a spălării banilor.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) a obținut mai mulți bani decât a fost așteptat în ultimul trimestru. Aceasta îndepărtează îngrijorările că impulsul global de a construi sisteme de inteligență artificială ar putea pierde putere.

Compania produce cipruri pentru Nvidia Corp. și a generat 1,05 trilioane NT$ (33,1 miliarde de dolari) în cele trei luni care s-au încheiat în decembrie. Acesta este un spor de aproximativ 20%. Suma a depășit estimarea de 1,02 trilioane NT$ a analiștilor, bazată pe date calculate din vânzările lunare.

Giganții din tehnologie continuă să cheltuiască mulți bani

Autoritatea britanică pentru reglementarea financiară (FCA) a lansat joi un portal pentru licențe cripto, înainte de un regim regulamentar amplu care urmează să intre în vigoare în 2027. Portalul pentru licențe cripto reprezintă o schimbare față de înregistrarea anti-lucrări de spălare a banilor către o autorizare completă în conformitate cu Legea privind serviciile financiare și piețele din 2000 (FSMA) pentru întreprinderile care doresc să servească clienți din Regatul Unit.

La 16 decembrie anul trecut, Ministerul Finanțelor a lansat versiunea cea mai recentă a Legii privind serviciile financiare și piețele din 2000 (Reglementarea criptoactivelor) 2025. În versiunea finală a FSMA, guvernul a adus mai multe modificări semnificative în răspuns la feedback-ul pieței, inclusiv clarificarea unor definiții cheie și introducerea unor noi excluderi pentru anumite activități.

The first week of 2026 has brought renewed momentum to the crypto markets. Prior to the 1st of January, the total crypto marketcap remained largely rangebound between $2.82 trillion and $3.05 trillion with BTC constricted within the zones of $84.2K to $90K. 

A pickup in activity, both in terms of capital flows and price action, has brought about a sentiment shift while analysts are weighing the odds of whether this trend can be sustained. 

For much of Q4 2025, sentiment across the crypto market remained bleak, largely due to the underwhelping performance during a period where many had positioned for strong upside. The October 10th liquidation event was a major blow to confidence and the slow declines thereafter only added pressure. Adding to this, crypto began to decouple from the strong momentum we saw towards the end of last year in traditional assets, including U.S. equities and commodities like Gold and Silver. 

The start of 2026 so far has, however, seemingly flipped the script. Key levels are being retested again as trading desks reopen and liquidity returns to the market. On the surface, crypto sentiment appears to have moved from apathy to alertness. Driving this market structure change are a combination of several factors such as a pick up in spot ETF inflows, reduced profit taking from long term holders, a gradual rise in futures open interest and advancing regulatory clarity, with the U.S. senate banking committee set to vote on the market structure bill on January 15th. 

Early Signals from Price Action

Since January 1st, Bitcoin is up around 4% at the time of writing, opening the year at $87.5K and reaching a high of $94.8K on January 5th. From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin approached a significant long term support and resistance zone between $93K to $95K which has been in play since December 2024. This explains why the price saw a drop from the $94K region. Until we see a decisive break and close over these zones, a longer bullish trend cannot be confirmed. 

What is clear however is that there is a risk of appetite within the broader crypto market and not limited to Bitcoin. Altcoins, measured by the TOTAL2 excluding stablecoins chart, is up around 8% since the start of the year. Large caps like XRP, Solana and Sui have outperformed Bitcoin during this period. 

Notably, sectors such as AI and memes have shown significant strength, up 27% and 23% respectively. 

Position Versus Conviction 

Spot and Futures volumes also indicate that traders are gradually positioning themselves with risk-on conviction. When we look at spot volumes, which had been a clear downward trend since the second week of October, are now starting to show early signs of a reversal, a pattern that is also emerging in derivatives markets. 

Aggregate futures open positions in BTC are also showing signs of a recovery after the massive deleveraging we witnessed last quarter. The modest recovery in positioning coincides with the price uptick, suggesting that traders are re-entering the market thereby improving liquidity conditions and supporting short term price discovery. 

Institutional Activity Being Watched Closely 

In addition to the rise in volume, U.S. spot ETF flows, specifically for the altcoin ETFs, also began the year with a shift back into motion. This comes after a prolonged period of net outflows and subdued activity seen throughout late-2025. 

BTC ETFs since the start of the year have been mixed. January 5th clocked in inflows not seen since October, but this was followed up with three consecutive days of outflows, leaving net inflows since the start of the year at  $40.4 million. 

Comparatively, Inflows to the ETH spot ETFs are showing more strength, with net inflows at $199.7 million so far this year. Notably, Solana spot ETFs have seen consistent demand recording net inflows of $50.72 million since January 1st. 

Apart from existing Spot ETF activity, institutional interest in crypto was reinforced by the news that Morgan Stanley was applying for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana spot ETFs with the SEC. 

What Will Confirm Sentiment Next

While 2026 has shown early signs of a trend reversal, there are still key levels that need to be reclaimed on the chart. So far, what’s positive is that despite BTC rejecting from the $94K zone, it has perfectly bounced from the 50 day simple moving average, which has acted as support in previous rallies to the upside. In the immediate short term, getting above the $95K resistance and treating this as support will be a crucial catalyst for improving sentiment among traders. 

To truly see a sustained sentiment shift, we can use the Short Term Holder Cost Basis model as a reference. This is an on-chain indicator that shows the average price at which recent Bitcoin buyers (holding for less than about five months) acquired their coins. When price is above this level, recent buyers are generally in profile while below it increases selling pressure as they are at a loss. Given that it shows where recent buyers are positioned, this can be a very useful sentiment tool. Currently this level sits at $98.7K. 

Coreea de Sud și-a schimbat perspectiva asupra ecosistemului cripto, adoptând o abordare mai pozitivă pentru sector. Guvernul evaluează posibilitatea de a aproba fondurile de investiții tranzacționate pe bursă (ETF) pentru Bitcoin în contul de tranzacționare în acest an.

Conform unui raport eliberat, guvernul intenționează să introducă un al doilea proiect de lege care va se concentra asupra stabilirii unui cadru legal pentru activele digitale, în special pentru stablecoinuri. În plus față de acest proiect de lege, reporterul a menționat că guvernul dorește să adopte reglementări potrivite pentru a reglementa tranzacțiile transfrontaliere pentru această criptomonedă.

Compania Rain, specializată în plăți cu stablecoin, a ridicat 250 de milioane de dolari în runda nouă de Serie C, ridicând astfel fondurile totale ale companiei la 338 de milioane de dolari și valoarea sa la 1,95 miliarde de dolari, potrivit fondatorului și CEO-ului Farooq Malik.

Runda nouă de Serie C a fost condusă de ICONIQ, cu sprijinul de la Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer, Lightspeed și Galaxy Ventures.

Rain intenționează să utilizeze banii pentru a extinde operațiunile în mod global, în special în America de Nord, America de Sud, Europa, Asia și Africa. Compania se pregătește, de asemenea, să facă față unor reguli mai stricte în ceea ce privește stablecoinurile și infrastructura criptomonedei. Farooq a spus:-

Asambléea New York a reîntrat într-un proiect de lege care vizează pariurile sportive pe piețele de predicție în timp ce Polymarket intră într-un acord cu Rangers din NHL. Asamblatorul statului NY Clyde Vanel a reluat un proiect de lege care interzice piețelor de predicție să ofere pariuri sportive, în special meciul de joi dintre Rangers și Buffalo Sabres.

Vanel a reîntrat în proiectul de lege ORACLE Act, care a fost inițial introdus în noiembrie, cu o zi înainte ca Polymarket să semneze acordul cu Rangers. Cu toate acestea, deși legislația interzice parierea pe majoritatea evenimentelor sportive, piețele de predicție încă pot paria pe rezultatele turneelor.

Garda Revoluționară a Iranului ar fi folosit criptomonedele pentru a evita sancțiunile occidentale de cel puțin 3 ani, conform unui raport al TRM Labs.

De la începutul anului 2023, Garda a canalizat aproximativ 1 miliard de dolari prin două exchange-uri de criptomonedă cu sediul în Regatul Unit, Zedcex și Zedxion. Se presupune că aceste exchange-uri îi ajută pe Garda să trimită cantități mari de USDT peste granițe fără a trece prin bănci.

Garda iraniană a folosit criptomonedele pentru a ajunge la grupuri și furnizori din străinătate

Pentru cei neinițiați, IRGC este piesa cea mai puternică a armatei Iranului, iar aceasta a fost supusă unor sancțiuni grele din partea Statelor Unite și a altor țări începând cu momentul în care s-a considerat că este un aliat prea puternic pentru Rusia în primele zile ale războiului din Ucraina.

Monero (XMR) returned to the top spot among privacy coins after ZEC sank closer to $400. XMR flipped the previous leader with a price of $456.39. 

The battle between Monero (XMR) and ZEC intensified, as the two top privacy coins are fighting for the top spot in terms of market capitalization. 

XMR flipped ZEC with slow and steady gains, while ZCash had to battle reputational damage as the developer team abandoned the privacy project. | Source: Coingecko

XMR returned as the most valuable coin, with a price of $456.39, trading within its usual range. The coin took the top spot after ZEC had a deeper correction in the past week after the developer team abandoned the project over governance disputes. 

As a result, ZEC had a volatile price swing, sinking to a local low of $395.85. In the past day, ZEC regained nearly 10% to $434.13, but is still valued lower, at $7.14B total market cap. XMR traded at $8.42B in total market capitalization. 

Can ZEC recover? 

ZEC showed signs of recovery in the short term, but is still over $1B behind the valuation of Monero. The ZCash project will also have to rebuild its reputation after failing in its task to rally to over $1,000. 

ZEC was also showing signs that its success mostly hinged on the actions of influencers and a handful of whale buyers. The token is yet to prove its effect on decentralized finance and the willingness of retail to hold. 

There are still over 4.87M ZEC staked in the most high-security veiled vault, the Orchard pool. Despite the ZEC downturn, there are no signs of panic withdrawals. Privacy is still seen as an important issue in crypto activity, especially after tax authorities are trying to increase their scrutiny to wallets. 

Additionally, the developer team of the Electric Coin Company (ECC) has not completely abandoned ZEC. They have announced the formation of a new wallet and a privacy company, still expected to support ZCash. 

Miners are also supporting the coin, with hashrate expanding to a new all-time high.  

Can Monero drive the privacy coin narrative?

Monero has behaved as a legacy coin, with no specific support from influencers or investors. XMR expanded based on the overall performance of the crypto market. 

The behavior of ZEC has also sparked predictions that XMR could perform a similar rally after years of consolidation. Monero can still ride the privacy narrative, based on predictions of demand for disguising ownership.

Monero’s hashrate is also close to an all-time high with constant expansion in the last few months. Mining is also a way to gain new privacy coins with no connections to other wallets. 

XMR is still traded mostly on international exchanges and is avoided by US-based and EU market operators. For now, Monero has not made attempts to join the DeFi space or offer tokenized versions like ZEC.

XMR holders are introducing the narrative of the coin as a store of value, despite its ban on European platforms due to money laundering laws.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.