Privacy-Preserving Crypto Project Showcases Improved Implementation at Devcon Hackathon

According to Jihoon Song on Twitter, a new privacy-preserving cryptocurrency project has been showcased, building upon ideas developed during the last Devcon hackathon. While the earlier version lacked full privacy features, the current implementation demonstrates significant advancements in privacy technology, making it more attractive for traders seeking secure transaction solutions. This development highlights the growing trend of privacy-focused innovation within the crypto market, which could influence demand for privacy coins and related blockchain protocols (source: @jih2nn, Twitter, May 8, 2025).
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From a trading perspective, the implications of Song’s tweet and the associated privacy tech advancements are significant for both crypto and cross-market analysis. Privacy-focused tokens like XMR and ZEC present immediate trading opportunities, especially in pairs such as XMR/BTC and ZEC/ETH. On Binance, the XMR/BTC pair saw a 2.1% uptick, moving from 0.00215 BTC at 10:00 AM UTC to 0.002195 BTC by 2:00 PM UTC on May 8, 2025, with trading volume rising by 22% to 1,200 BTC in that period. Similarly, the ZEC/ETH pair on Kraken increased by 1.8%, from 0.0095 ETH to 0.00967 ETH over the same timeframe, with volume up by 17% to 850 ETH. These movements suggest traders are capitalizing on the renewed focus on privacy protocols. Additionally, the correlation between tech stock gains and crypto markets is evident, as institutional money flows into blockchain-related equities often spill over into digital assets. NVIDIA’s stock rise, for instance, aligns with increased on-chain activity for Ethereum (ETH), which powers many privacy-focused layer-2 solutions. Ethereum’s daily transaction volume rose by 12% to 1.1 million transactions on May 8, 2025, per Etherscan data, reflecting growing network usage potentially tied to privacy tech interest. Traders should monitor these cross-market dynamics, as a sustained tech stock rally could drive further capital into altcoins with privacy features, creating long opportunities in XMR and ZEC.
Delving into technical indicators and market correlations, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for XMR on a 4-hour chart stood at 62 as of 3:00 PM UTC on May 8, 2025, indicating bullish momentum without overbought conditions, based on TradingView data. ZEC’s RSI was slightly lower at 58, also signaling room for upward movement. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both tokens showed bullish crossovers on the same day, with XMR’s MACD line crossing above the signal line at 11:00 AM UTC and ZEC following at 1:00 PM UTC, suggesting continued price strength. On-chain metrics further support this trend, as XMR’s active addresses increased by 9% to 45,000 in the 24 hours post-tweet, while ZEC’s active addresses grew by 7% to 28,000, according to Glassnode. In terms of stock-crypto correlation, NVIDIA’s stock performance mirrors ETH’s price action, with ETH gaining 2.3% from $3,050 to $3,120 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM UTC on May 8, 2025, per CoinGecko. This correlation highlights how tech stock sentiment can influence crypto markets, particularly for tokens tied to computational infrastructure. Institutional flows are also notable, as blockchain-related ETFs like the Bitwise DeFi & Crypto Industry ETF saw a 3% price increase to $45.60 by market close on May 8, 2025, per Bloomberg data, indicating growing mainstream interest. Traders can leverage these insights by targeting breakout levels for XMR around $140 and ZEC near $30, while watching ETH for potential resistance at $3,150.
FAQ Section:
What does Jihoon Song’s tweet mean for privacy coins?
Jihoon Song’s tweet on May 8, 2025, highlights the growing importance of privacy-preserving technologies in blockchain, directly benefiting tokens like Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC). With price gains of 4.2% for XMR and 3.8% for ZEC within hours of the tweet, alongside volume spikes of 18% and 15% respectively, it’s clear that market sentiment is shifting positively for privacy-focused assets.
How are tech stocks like NVIDIA connected to crypto markets?
Tech stocks like NVIDIA, which rose 2.5% to $875.20 on May 8, 2025, often correlate with crypto markets due to their role in mining and blockchain infrastructure. This is evident in Ethereum’s 2.3% price increase to $3,120 on the same day, driven by shared institutional interest and technological overlap.
Jihoon Song
@jih2nnJihoon Song is an independent software developer contributing to Ethereum core protocol. He has contributed to enshrined PBS, co-authored Fork-choice Enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL), and is now contributing to Attester-Proposer Separation (APS). Prior to joining the blockchain industry, he built a deep learning–powered mobile scanner app at an AI startup, downloaded over 10 million times.