bdx

Privacy Coins Tier List

Everyone talks about privacy. Almost no one builds it right. So we ranked the few that actually did.


S Tier : ZANO, XMR, ARRR, ZEC

$ZANO :
Hybrid PoW/PoS, mandatory RingCT, confidential assets, stealth staking, and the Zarcanum protocol fusing zk-SNARKs with RingCT.No transparent transactions ever. Confidential assets, privacy stablecoins, bridges.The only chain delivering scalable, enterprise-ready privacy.
#1 by design.

#XMR :

Still the backbone of digital fungibility.Ring signatures, stealth addresses, and Dandelion++ routing.A decade of battle testing has made it the reference standard.

$ARRR :
Pure zk-SNARK shielding. No optional privacy, no transparent layer.Komodo dPoW security ensures censorship resistance.Privacy maximalism embodied.

$ZEC :

The academic origin of zk-SNARKs and the seed of modern privacy tech.Despite optional shielding, over 30% of 2025 transactions use full privacy mode.Regarded as the institutional face of zero-knowledge research.
A Tier: ANYONE, BDX

$ANYONE :
A privacy operating system for Web3.Combing private identity, soulbound reputation, and verifiable voting.Positioned as the gateway between private computation and human identity. 2026 breakout candidate.

#BDX :
Mandatory mixing, staking, and encrypted messaging.Growing as a payments-layer alternative with consistent on-chain activity.A steady, underrated performer in privacy infrastructure.
B Tier: SCRT, ERG, ROSE, FIRO, PIVX

$SCRT :
Private smart contracts on Cosmos and EVM rails.A leader in programmable privacy but with partial visibility trade-offs.

$ERG :
Sigma protocols, local mixers, and Rosen bridge architecture.An academic’s coin, but adoption remains niche.

#ROSE :
Enterprise-grade zk enclaves for data privacy.Used in institutional partnerships, less so by individual users.

#FIRO :
Lelantus Spark technology and verified anonymity sets.Solid research, weaker liquidity.

$PIVX :
Governance-driven privacy through zPIV and masternodes.Active, community-led, and historically resilient.
C Tier: ZEPH, DASH, NYM, DUSK, TORN

$ZEPH :
Monero fork with an over-collateralized stablecoin.Interesting experiment, still early and unproven.

$DASH :
Fast, but PrivateSend is opt-in and traceable when skipped.

$NYM :
Mixnet-level metadata privacy, not full transactional privacy.

$DUSK :
Focuses on private securities and compliance frameworks, not personal anonymity.

$TORN :

Once essential, now sanctioned and risky to interact with.
Symbol of what happens when privacy meets regulation head-on.
D Tier : CCD, XEL, AZERO, ALEO, #LITKEY , SENTINEL
Ecosystems with limited recent activity or uncertain privacy focus.Innovation potential exists, but 2025 traction remains minimal.Still present in code, waiting for a second act.

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 : 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦.

𝘋𝘠𝘖𝘙, 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴.

𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳: 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦.