Privacy coins Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) experienced heightened volatility this week alongside major Bitcoin (BTC) whale accumulation, as XMR briefly broke $650 and BTC faced resistance near $85,000.
Monero and Zcash See Volatile Spikes Following Network Updates
Monero (XMR) registered a double-digit rally on October 22, crossing $650 for the first time since January. The price surge coincided with the release of GUI v0.18.5.4 ‘Fluorine Fermi’, a minor update designed to reopen testnet and stagenet wallets while delivering bug fixes. Following the push, social media analysts Sweep and Alaoui Capital projected a surge toward a new all-time high of $1,000. However, the asset subsequently pulled back to $605, according to CoinGecko data. Trader Dr Profit warned that XMR open interest hit an all-time high—a statement contested by Santiment—noting a previous identical open interest surge was followed by a 66% crash within 20 days.
Meanwhile, Zcash (ZEC) surged to a nine-day peak above $1,360 on October 21. The move was driven by plans to triple block production speed via the upcoming NU7 upgrade targeted for November 5, along with $37 million in 10x leveraged long positions opened by two major investors. The rally lost momentum, sending ZEC down to $1,200, representing a 2% weekly decline. Technical analyst Crypto With Gopal noted that sellers are testing the $1,050 neckline support of a head-and-shoulders chart pattern, emphasizing that buyers must push prices back above $1,300 to invalidate the bearish setup.
Bitcoin Rejection at $85,000 Countered by Massive Whale Buying
Bitcoin was rejected near $85,000 on October 22, dropping back down to hover near $81,500 amid broader weakness across financial markets and escalating global geopolitical friction.
Despite the spot market pushback, on-chain data shows substantial buying by large holders. A total of 40 newly created wallet addresses have withdrawn more than $770 million worth of BTC since October 1. This follows an earlier accumulation phase where wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC added nearly 90,000 units of BTC to their balances over a single month, as whales accumulate BTC during market pullbacks.
Key Takeaways
- Monero (XMR) reached an eight-month high above $650 before retracing to $605.
- Zcash (ZEC) pulled back 2% weekly to $1,200 after touching $1,360 ahead of its scheduled November 5 NU7 upgrade.
- 40 new addresses withdrew over $770 million in Bitcoin since October 1 as BTC hovers around $81,500.
Why It Matters
The divergent moves between privacy tokens and top-tier assets like Bitcoin highlight shifting trader appetites across crypto market cycles. Protocol updates and leverage spikes can trigger swift short-term rallies in altcoins, but sustained momentum depends heavily on broader macroeconomic stability. Meanwhile, relentless whale accumulation near key Bitcoin support levels indicates that large-scale participants are capitalizing on spot price dips regardless of short-term macro headwinds.
