Regulators’ attempts in many countries to tighten control over the cryptocurrency market have increased the popularity of cryptocurrencies with improved anonymity.
Anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash were among the growth leaders in March. Such popularity of coins focused on higher privacy is primarily due to the political situation in the world and the pressure of regulators on the crypto market.
According to CoinGecko, the three largest cryptocurrencies by capitalization with a higher level of anonymity rose in the last 30 days:
- Monero (XMR) — 42%;
- Zcash (ZEC) — 90%;
- Dash (DASH) — 46%.
Smaller anonymous coins also showed a sharp rise:
- Ergo (ERG) has shown a 68% increase since the beginning of March;
- Cloakcoin (CLOAK) is up 275% in the last 7 days;
- DigiByte (DGB) was almost the same price during March, but in the period from March 26 to March 28 it showed 90% growth;
- Scala (XLA) also showed a steep rise since March 24, more than doubling its value.
Confidential coins attract attention not only from investors but also from regulators who see them as a threat. For example, FinCEN accused anonymous coins of using technology that prevents security agencies from recognizing transaction activity on the blockchain. And last September, South Korea’s leading exchange Upbit announced it was delisting six anonymity-oriented cryptocurrencies, including Monero, Dash and ZCash. Earlier, the Korean division of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx delisted five anonymous coins because they violated FATF standards.
But despite all the restrictions, attacks and even delisting on popular exchanges, anonymous coins are enjoying wide popularity.
