Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped Significantly

Over the past few years, a few privacy-centric cryptocurrencies have gained both in popularity and value. Many of these coins like monero, dash, pivx, zcash, and more were at one time top ten digital asset contenders as far as market valuation is concerned. Now even though a few of these specific digital assets have dropped out of the top ten capitalizations, some of them are not too far behind the highest valued coins, but a great majority of them have significantly lower market caps.

It’s been close to a decade since the birth of the original Bitcoin protocol and there have been over 1600 cryptocurrencies with all types of features launched since then. One specific digital asset feature that’s always been popular among cryptocurrency fans is anonymity. Most people know bitcoin transactions are not anonymous unless a mixing application is used, and even that type of tool is not 100 percent as the method obfuscates transactions at best. Because of this issue, a myriad of privacy-centric cryptocurrencies have been introduced over the years and many of them held top ten positions among the most valued digital assets but all of them have been bumped off the list. Quite a few of the most popular privacy-focused coins have lost considerable value since last December and a few of these tokens are also approaching some new changes and protocol upgrades.

Where Are They Now?
Monero (XMR)
Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped SignificantlyMonero (XMR) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that claims to offer untraceable payments, unlinkable transactions, blockchain analysis resistance, and adaptive parameters. The cryptocurrency is different than most digital assets because it’s not based on the original Bitcoin protocol and its consensus is based on the Cryptonight protocol. Since Monero was launched in 2014, the currency has done well as far as market value is concerned. For instance, the first week of trading saw XMR prices reach .99 cents to $2 per coin and over the past couple years XMR has gained around 6,900 percent since launch.

Dash (DASH)
Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped SignificantlyAnother coin that offers privacy sending features and enjoyed a long stay in the top ten is the cryptocurrency dash (formally known as darkcoin). Back in 2014, the cryptocurrency was trading for $1.25 -1.50 per DASH and at today’s current prices the digital asset is up 16,100 percent in value which is a pretty extraordinary feat. Although, people who didn’t get in real early on dash and bought the 2017 high have seen a loss of -83.8 percent during dash’s ATH of $1,500 per coin on December 21.

Zcash (ZEC)
Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped SignificantlyAnother privacy-centric coin that has seen a lot of market action since it was launched is zcash (ZEC). In fact, ZEC markets have been pretty wild since it was introduced because if you invested in the currency during the first week of launch you might be seeing a big loss. During the first day of trading ZEC prices were around $2,044 per coin, $574 the next day, then a day later it was $1,624 a ZEC. In a few rare instances, some exchanges hit $12K per ZEC the first day. In order to make transactions private Zcash users send ‘shielded’ transactions which are protected by zero-knowledge cryptography. The zero-knowledge methods the ZEC protocol utilizes are called zk-SNARKs and zcash users can also send open and public transactions as well. However many skeptics believe the minting ceremony process of zero-knowledge proof coins (trusted setup) is not 100 percent foolproof.

PIVX (PIVX)
Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped SignificantlyThe cryptocurrency PIVX (Private Instant Verified Transaction) is a privacy-centric Proof-of-Stake (PoS) coin that derives its codebase from the bitcoin protocol 0.10 and dash. The PIVX system also uses a masternode mechanism and the developers claim to have recently introduced Zerocoin (zero-knowledge proofs) technology. If an individual bought PIVX during the first week of launch, the person would have gained 230,900 percent. However, if the person purchased PIVX on January 10, 2018, they would have lost -83.38 percent today. PIVX is not very close to the top ten positions at all, as the currency holds the 80th position amongst the top valued coins within the crypto-economy. Furthermore, the PIVX community has a long history of feuding with the dash community which is likely due to the project’s similarities.

A Bunch of Different Cryptocurrencies Aim to Provide Anonymity — But As Far As Market Performance is Concerned, Many of these Coins Have Significantly Lower Valuations Than the Top Ten Cryptos
These four coins have all been top contenders within the cryptocurrency space and there are many other cryptocurrencies that have aimed to offer anonymity. Other cryptocurrencies that have done well within trading markets at one time and offer privacy-centric solutions include Zencash, Bitcoin Private, Komodo, Spectrecoin, Bitcoin Dark, Verge, Navcoin, Boolberry, Zcoin, Deeponion, and more. All of the methods these coins use consist of three similar ideas like zero-knowledge proofs, ring signatures, and masternode mixing services.

Now, most of these cryptocurrencies have some value but a great majority, minus the few mentioned above, are not very close to the top ten crypto-market valuations. The highest valued privacy coins that are somewhat close to the top ten positions include monero, dash, zcash, and verge. That’s only four digital assets, and the rest anon-coin’s market valuations are below the 40th position and don’t seem to be making it to the top-ten lineup anytime soon.