Privacy Coin Continues to Receive Inflows, HYPE Market Cap Once Surpasses Dogecoin

May 26: The privacy coin segment led losses, wiping out much of the cryptocurrency market’s recent gains. Data from HTX shows ZEC dropped as much as 5.2% to hit $619, making it the worst performer among the top 20 digital assets by market capitalization—though it remains 8.2% higher over the past seven days. Zcash has been among the top-performing crypto assets in recent weeks. Multicoin Capital’s disclosure of its ZEC holdings earlier this month, paired with growing broader interest in privacy coins, has drawn institutional attention to ZEC. Analysts note that this ~5% pullback, following a sharp rally, is largely a profit-taking move rather than new selling pressure; core buyers of privacy coins have been adding to positions throughout the uptrend, not offloading them. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token briefly overtook Dogecoin in market cap during Asian trading hours before pulling back. HYPE fell 4% to $59, while Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped 0.8% to $0.1009. Fueled by last week’s launch of perpetual contracts for SpaceX—prior to HYPE’s listing on Hyperliquid—the token is still up 23.6% over the past week. The broader macro environment has set a cautious tone for global markets. U.S. Central Command confirmed it conducted strikes on Iranian missile launch sites and vessels attempting to mine the Strait of Hormuz, describing the action as defensive. Brent crude oil rose nearly 2% to $98 per barrel, bouncing back from a 7% drop on Monday, when both London and New York markets were closed for a holiday. The U.S. dollar strengthened against all G10 currencies, gold dipped 0.6% to $1,545, and S&P 500 futures held onto a 0.6% advance after the U.S. market’s Monday holiday.