Zcash, Monero, OKB Lead 2025 Crypto Gains with Significant Rallies

The year 2025 saw a significant drop in crypto markets, but Zcash, Monero, and OKB outperformed with notable gains.

Zcash (ZEC): Over 800% YTD

  • Zcash, launched in 2016, uses zk-SNARKs for optional private transactions.
  • The coin surged by over 800% year-to-date, with a significant spike of 400% in October alone.
  • Factors include a rotation into privacy coins and endorsements from figures like Naval Ravikant and Arthur Hayes.
  • Zcash became one of Coinbase's most-searched assets in November.

ZEC price in 2025 | Source: CoinMarketCap

Monero (XMR): Over 120% YTD

  • Monero, known for its default privacy features, gained about 129% year-to-date.
  • Key catalysts included a large BTC-to-XMR swap and rumors of possible relisting.
  • The swap caused a liquidity squeeze traced back to a social engineering theft incident.

Monero price in 2025 | Source: CoinMarketCap

OKB: Over 110% YTD

  • OKB, the utility token of OKX, ended the year with a 115% gain.
  • A spike was driven by the burning of 65.26 million OKB, significantly reducing supply.
  • This burn, along with network upgrades, doubled the price intraday and increased volumes by 13,000% temporarily.

OKB price in 2025 | Source: CoinMarketCap