On January 16, news broke that as the privacy coin sector continues to heat up in early 2026, on-chain data shows that some funds are shifting from mainstream privacy coins with a market cap of several billion dollars to medium-cap projects. Multiple on-chain indicators reveal that in January, large whale accounts significantly increased their holdings of various medium-cap privacy coins, which the market interprets as an early move to position for the next phase of the privacy sector. Among the many targets, Horizen (ZEN) has become a focal point for capital attention. The project is positioned as a privacy layer protocol, emphasizing on-chain privacy computation and transactions within a compliant framework. Data shows that ZEN's price increased by over 50% in January, with a market cap of approximately $226 million. Although it remains significantly below its 2021 peak, long-term funds continue to enter. On-chain data indicates that Grayscale-related products have been steadily increasing their holdings of ZEN since late 2024, with current holdings accounting for over 5% of the circulating supply, signaling institutional optimism for medium-cap privacy assets.

Golden Finance reports that, according to Cointelegraph, Ripple has officially completed a $200 million acquisition of the stablecoin platform Rail.