During the period of declining cryptocurrency market capitalization, only a few managed to show positive momentum. Despite overall pressure and capital outflows from risk assets, some crypto projects attracted liquidity and strengthened their positions.
An analysis of such successful cryptocurrencies helps identify which segments of the crypto industry remain investment-attractive even under a bearish trend*. Below are five altcoins that not only avoided declines but also posted significant price gains.
* A bearish trend (bear market) is a prolonged period of declining prices in the market, accompanied by pessimistic investor expectations and a dominance of selling over buying. Typically, a bearish trend is characterized by asset price declines of 20% or more from recent highs.
Zcash (ZEC) — 74% growth
In the fall of 2025, privacy-focused cryptocurrencies gained noticeable momentum. Among the leaders were Monero and Dash; however, Zcash demonstrated the most impressive performance.
Analysts attribute this growth to easing regulatory pressure on privacy cryptocurrencies*, as well as increased oversight of blockchain platforms. Against this backdrop, investors began seeking instruments that provide enhanced transaction anonymity.
* Privacy cryptocurrencies are digital assets whose architecture is originally designed to maximize transaction and user confidentiality. Unlike most public blockchains, where transfer data is openly recorded on the ledger and available for analysis, privacy networks use special cryptographic mechanisms to conceal key transaction parameters. Privacy cryptocurrencies hide the sender and recipient addresses, transfer amounts, and sometimes wallet balances and transaction history.
An additional success factor may have been the listing of ZEC on the major derivatives exchange Hyperliquid. The price of Zcash was also reportedly supported by public statements from former Binance executive Arthur Hayes, who expressed support for the project.
Over two months, ZEC rose from $228 to $445 (+74%). Market capitalization reached $7.28 billion, allowing the asset to enter the top 20 largest cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, experts warn of signs of overbought* conditions in Zcash and a likely correction amid market instability.
* Overbought is a market condition in which an asset’s price experiences excessively rapid and intense growth over a short period, significantly outpacing its fundamental indicators, real economic value, or historical average performance. In simple terms, demand becomes so high that the asset’s price is driven less by objective factors and more by hype, emotions, and speculation.
Telcoin (TEL) — 39% growth
Despite an overall decline in value since the beginning of the year (nearly a threefold drop since February 2025), Telcoin was among the assets that showed growth over the past 60 days.
The project operates within the Polygon ecosystem; however, TEL’s performance proved independent of the main network’s negative trends. This highlights that individual tokens can grow due to internal drivers and product development expectations.
Over two months, TEL gained 39%, reaching $0.0049. Market capitalization totaled $447 million, securing the token’s position in the top 100 cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, Telcoin’s current price is only slightly above its listing level and remains more than 90% below its all-time high ($0.064) recorded in May 2021.
Monero (XMR) — 29% growth
Rising interest in the privacy digital asset segment also supported Monero’s price. Over 60 days, XMR increased from $294 to $406 (+29%), and its market capitalization exceeded $7.49 billion.
By this metric, Monero ranked 16th on CoinMarketCap.
Experts note that, aside from increased demand for anonymous transactions, there were no significant technological updates in the project. This suggests that part of the positive price movement may be speculative.
At the same time, Monero’s fundamentals appear stronger than Zcash’s: around 25,000 daily transactions versus approximately 8,000 for ZEC. High on-chain activity* is considered an important indicator of network resilience.
* On-chain activity refers to the total number of operations conducted directly on the blockchain: the number of transactions, active addresses, transfer volumes, and other network metrics. High on-chain activity is generally viewed as a sign of demand and sustainability for a crypto project.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) — 22% growth
The modern crypto market increasingly demonstrates the influence of political and reputational factors on asset prices. World Liberty Financial gained wide recognition due to its connections with Donald Trump’s family.
Analysts link WLFI’s growth to news of a strategic partnership with Bank of America, as well as a phased token burn* program aimed at reducing supply. Positive financial reports also provided additional support.
* Token burn is the irreversible removal of a portion of tokens from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible address. The goal is to reduce the total supply of the crypto asset, which, if demand remains stable, could drive price growth.
Since early October 2025, WLFI has increased by 22%, reaching $0.14. However, since its listing in September, the price has fallen by more than half, indicating high volatility* of the asset.
* Volatility is a quantitative measure of an asset’s price variability over a certain period. It reflects how frequently and how strongly the asset’s price fluctuates relative to its average value. In other words, volatility indicates the level of market instability and the degree of risk associated with investing in a particular asset.
Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) — 15% growth
After a sharp November rally, the price of Virtuals Protocol corrected by more than half; however, the asset recently demonstrated positive momentum again, rising 15% to $0.80.
The project’s market capitalization exceeds $525 million, placing it among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Virtuals Protocol is among the largest projects in the artificial intelligence segment.
The AI sector remains one of the most attractive areas even during a bear market. Interest from venture capital funds* and retail investors in AI agents and neural networks acts as a key growth driver.
* Venture capital funds are specialized investment entities that invest in young, fast-growing companies at early stages of development:
- seed stage — the earliest stage, when a project has an idea, prototype, or minimum viable product but lacks a stable business model and consistent revenue;
- early stage — the initial development phase, when the product has been launched, first customers and revenue appear, but the business is still actively forming;
- growth stage — the scaling phase, when the company has proven its model’s viability and attracts investment to expand its market, team, and infrastructure.
Such projects typically have high scalability potential but also carry a higher risk of failure, as they are in active development and do not yet have stable financial sustainability.
Since its listing in January 2024, despite corrections, the token’s value has increased nearly 80 times, making it one of the most notable projects of recent years.