Zcash surges 12% as Monero slips: privacy coins diverge ahead of Fed meeting

• Zcash (ZEC) has surged into positive territory with double-digit advances over the past 24 hours.
• As ZEC hovers above $380, the privacy coin Monero (XMR) is down 2% at $372.
• XMR price earlier dropped to lows of $360.

Zcash and Monero, two top privacy coins, have witnessed differing price movements on Monday as the overall cryptocurrency market remained largely subdued.

Bitcoin hovered just above $92,000 ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, while BNB, Solana, and XRP all looked to mirror Ethereum’s slight gains.

Nonetheless, bulls’ failure to ignite a widespread rally sees many altcoins hover well off recent peaks, including Zcash and Monero.

Zcash price sees double-digit gains

Zcash posted gains of over 12% as the token’s value jumped from around $334 to near $400.

Per data from CoinMarketCap, the privacy coin reached highs of $398 across major crypto exchanges, extending gains above $380.

While current prices of $383 are well off the recent peaks above $700, buyers may fancy new momentum as ZEC benefits from the sentiment that saw it switch from a laggard into a top-20 cryptocurrency by market cap.

A surge in shielded transactions, with Zcash positioned as a private alternative to Bitcoin, highlights the confidence. Open interest in Zcash futures sits at over $783 million, down from $1.3 billion in November.

However, robust speculative engagement is intact as seen in the past 24 hours, with liquidations hitting over $10 million.

Coinglass data shows 80% of 24-hour liquidations for ZEC are shorts, likely caught off guard amid the sudden price jump.

Should Zcash breach the $400 resistance, bulls may push toward $500 and target the year-to-date peaks. On the flipside, a breakdown below $370 could give sellers an upper hand.

Monero price risks fresh losses

In contrast to Zcash Monero has dipped in the past 24 hours.

The privacy coin fell to lows of $360 earlier in the day, and now faces an uphill battle after fresh rejections around the $380 mark.

XMR price is currently around $372 and shows a decline of nearly 2% in the past 24 hours and 10% in the past week.

Comparatively, the ZEC price is up more than 11% in the same seven-day period.

Losses for Monero extended to four consecutive bearish daily candles on December 7, 2025. Bulls are therefore looking to prevent a fifth red candle.

Yet, as bears have recently erased most of November’s gains to highs of $470.

The dip to $360 thus leaves Monero vulnerable to further erosion if support falters. As with other altcoins, the primary drivers of Monero’s malaise revolve around macroeconomic pressures.

XMR also trades in a broadening wedge pattern, and the area around $400 has proved key to bears.

Elsewhere, futures open interest has contracted to $54 million, down from $67 million on December 1, 2025, and from a recent peak of $98 million on November 10,2025.

The token has also dropped amid a double-top formation at $435, which means a short term dip to support in the $335 region looms.

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