In a year marked by market turmoil and growing geopolitical tensions, privacy currencies emerged as the best performance sector in the cryptocurrency space.

Analysts and advocates of privacy argue that this is no coincidence. In fact, some believe that superior performance signals the initial stages of greater change in global financial dynamics.

Why do privacy coins stand out in a market moved by fear?

According to Artemis’s latest data, privacy -focused cryptocurrencies have dropped 12.9% since the beginning of the year, the lowest drop between all crypto sectors.

By comparison, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 16.8%. In addition, Ethereum (ETH) also deprecated 52.8% in the year’s accumulated (YTD).

Belechrypto data showed that last month, the main privacy coins did well compared to the BTC. Monero (XMR) fell 8.1%. Zcash (ZEC) had a modest increase of 9.1%. However, with Bitcoin, the losses are slightly larger. Last month, the biggest cryptocurrency lost 9.8% of its gains.

In fact, privacy currencies have also surpassed the larger cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours. The privacy sector fell by 7.0%, while the global crypto market fell 8.3%.

Patrick Scott, chief of growth in Defillama, attributed this higher performance to broader macroeconomic changes in a recent X (former Twitter) post.

Privacy coins were the best performance crypto industry during the fall. This is not about hype. It’s macro, he he wrote.

Scott pointed out that countries are becoming more economically isolated due to increased tariffs and potential capital controls. He argued that the ability of privacy currencies to resist censorship and operate privately would make them more important, from only a “narrative” to a practical necessity.

Superior performance is not random. It is an initial reaction to a change of change in change and the collapse of the Post-World War International Order, Scott noted.

Privacy gains prominence among industry leaders

Meanwhile, many industry leaders echo a similar feeling. Vikrant Sharma, founder and CEO of Cake Investments, expressed strong support for privacy -focused solutions.

I’m a maxi… a maxi of privacy. That’s why I support privacy coins and tools like XMR, Zano, silent payments and Pay Join to BTC, Ltc-MWB, and yes, I think Zcash is good too, he posted.

Others, such as Mike Adams, founder of Brighteon, also emphasized the importance of privacy in transactions.

Use crypto of privacy, personal. Monero, Zano, Firo… No BTC, which is completely transparent and has no privacy, stated Adams.

In addition to these factors, demand for privacy coins is being driven by their growing use in illegal activities. A recent beincrypto report highlighted the domain of privacy currencies in illicit transactions, where they are preferred for their ability to conceal details of the transactions.

While Bitcoin and StableCoins are still used in such activities, privacy currencies as a monet are gaining strength due to their superior anonymity characteristics.