Privacy tokens gave back most of the gains that crypto markets had been holding on to.
Zcash (ZEC) fell 5.2% in 24 hours to $619, the biggest drop among the top 20 by market cap, although the token is still up 8.2% over the past seven days, according to data from CoinDesk. Monero (XMR) fell 4% to $378.
Both have been among the top performers in crypto over the past few weeks, with ZEC attracting institutional attention following the disclosure of Multicoin Capital’s stake earlier this month and the broader narrative around privacy tokens.
A 5% drop after that type of run is interpreted as profit-taking rather than fresh selling, as structural buyers of privacy tokens have been adding throughout the rally, not distributing into it.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token traded above Dogecoin’s market cap during Asian hours before pulling back, with HYPE falling 4% to $59 and discount of 0.8% to $0.1009. HYPE is still up 23.6% over the past seven days thanks to last week’s SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual launch on Hyperliquid.
Tron (TRX) was the only winner in the top 10, up 2.6% to $0.3739 and up 4.8% over the past seven days. Bitcoin held near $76,500, ether stood at $2,087, and Solana traded at $83.97, all in tight ranges without any major movement in either direction.
The macroeconomic context drove the cautious tone. US Central Command confirmed attacks on missile launch sites in Iran and ships attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the action as defensive.
Brent crude rose almost 2% to $98 a barrel, recovering from a 7% drop on Monday, when London and New York were closed for the holidays. The dollar strengthened against all G-10 peers, gold fell 0.6% to $4,545 and S&P 500 futures maintained a 0.6% gain after the US market closed on Monday.
