The privacy-coin sector expanded nearly fivefold over the past year, rising from $6.2 billion to roughly $30 billion in 21Shares’ Sept. 22 research, as Zcash led gains and institutions advanced confidential blockchain projects. CoinGecko’s later Sept. 22 snapshot placed its privacy-coin category at about $36.9 billion, with Zcash near $25 billion and Monero around $11.2 billion; the figures are not directly comparable because the providers use different category definitions and market snapshots. Zcash’s shielded pools held 4.91 million ZEC, or 29% of issued supply, according to ZecStats. Grayscale’s ZCSH began trading on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25 as the first exchange-traded product offering spot exposure to ZEC, while Ethereum, Solana, Canton Network and DTCC are pursuing different approaches to transaction confidentiality and controlled disclosure. The sector faces regulatory constraints, including an EU ban on anonymous or enhanced-obfuscation crypto accounts for covered providers from July 10, 2027.