Zcash and Monero Lead Altcoin Rally as Bitcoin Surges Past $42K: Details

As seen on CoinMarketCap, oldtimer privacy coins Zcash and Monero seem to be leading the altcoin market rally as Bitcoin rose to intraday highs of $42,438 on March 9. Monero (XMR) has added a whopping 20%, which allowed it to reenter the top 40 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Zcash (ZEC), another decentralized cryptocurrency focused on privacy and anonymity, is up nearly 15% at press time.

Top gainers on #OKX (24H)

? $MIR @mirror_protocol
? $XMR @monero
? $LUNA @terra_money
? $OMI @ecomi_
? $SIS @symbiosis_fi

— OKX (@okx) March 9, 2022

Launched in 2014, Monero aims to allow transactions to take place privately and with anonymity, while Zcash was founded in 2016.

Speaking on the price gains, on-chain analytics firm Santiment says:  “Crypto prices are moving the right direction again over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has risen modestly to above $39.2k once again, and Ethereum is back above $2,600. Notable gainers are ZEC (+16%), TON (+13%), AR (+10%) and XMR (+9%).”

? #Crypto prices are moving the right direction again over the past 24 hours. #Bitcoin has risen modestly to above $39.2k once again, and #Ethereum is back above $2,600. Notable gainers are $ZEC (+16%), $TON (+13%), $AR (+10%) and $XMR (+9%). https://t.co/kLo3joXOhK pic.twitter.com/w8yQs7rh8P

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 8, 2022

Terra (LUNA) is also up an impressive 19% in the last 24 hours with a total market cap of $35.4 billion. Terra (LUNA) is presently the largest network in terms of total staked value. Presently, more than $31.4 billion in LUNA have been staked directly on multiple platforms, according to cryptocurrency staking statistics service Staking Rewards, outpacing Solana and Cardano.

Bitcoin surpasses $42,000

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading at $42,019, up roughly 9%. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, also rose sharply.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies surged after the U.S. Treasury reportedly disclosed details of President Joe Biden’s executive order. The Treasury statement was quickly retracted after it was released, but it was widely regarded as positive for the cryptocurrency sector. Traders are still waiting for the final executive order, but a brief Treasury statement that appeared to be pro-crypto was enough to raise confidence.

The executive order, according to Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, is a “constructive approach to thoughtful crypto regulation.”