Everyone is talking about the next small cap moonshot. However, few are interested in the giants that are already shaping the market. So, today, I’m putting 3 large caps side by side. These three altcoins have real history, real use cases, and very different futures. And one of them is up 1,250% in the last 3 months.
Today I’m going to show you the hard numbers, the hidden risks, and why these altcoins can still be a smart buy. No hype. No noise. Just a clear overview of what each piece brings to the table. I will also see which of these altcoins can offer you the highest chance of long-term growth.
Zcash ($ZEC)
In today’s altcoin list, I’m starting with Zcash ($ZEC). Since the beginning of October, we have seen a massive rally in $ZEC. I will come back to the $ZEC figures soon. So this was after $ZEC had been inactive for almost 7 years. However, in today’s climate, I see a real growing adoption of privacy. But first watch my recent video on Zcash and other privacy altcoins.
Zcash has recently seen more activity in its protected pools. Currently, this figure reaches 30%. This represents 4.8 million of the 16.4 million $ZEC currently in circulation. This means more $ZEC is being used with privacy technology. This reduces the commercial supply in circulation and signals a real demand for confidentiality.
About 30% of $ZEC The entire supply of is now in protected pools, removed from the visible market.
This is a huge structural change.
It actually turns $ZEC into a semi-low float asset, where even moderate buying pressure can move the needle much more aggressively than… pic.twitter.com/o9ERgo7TRw– TECA (@CryptoTeca__) November 16, 2025
Zk Technology
Zcash uses solid, proven technology. Part of it is zero-knowledge proofs or zk-SNARKs. It is a cryptographic method that allows one party to prove the truth of a statement to another party. However, this without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement. Zcash also left the Halo trial system in NU5 in 2022. Thus, removing trusted setups and improving privacy/efficiency. This is a real technical advantage over older privacy designs.
In Zcash, zk-SNARKs enable user privacy. The strong privacy guarantee lies in the fact that transactions protected in Zcash can be fully encrypted on the blockchain, while being verified as valid according to the network’s consensus rules using zk-SNARK proofs.
–Zcash 🛡️ (@Zcash) November 1, 2022
Zcash’s $ZEC token exhibits clear supply dynamics and scarcity. Like Bitcoin, there will only ever be $21 million ZEC. However, I recently showed protected pool utilization of 30%. This tightens the efficient liquid supply when more parts are protected in the long term. Scarcity is important for price action.
However, Zcash also comes with some risks to consider. For example, many privacy altcoins are not listed on major exchanges. There is also regulatory pressure on privacy altcoins. Additionally, there may be friction when it comes to compliance with KYC or AML requirements.
The current price of $ZEC is $697 with a market cap of $11.28 billion. Currently, 78% of $ZEC tokens are already in circulation. Over the past year, $ZEC has increased by 1,534%. The Winklevoss twins launched a Zcash treasury company. This is one of those altcoins to watch.
Chain Link ($LINK)
With Chainlink ($LINK), we have one of my all-time favorite altcoins at our fingertips. You can find Chainlink in almost every area of the crypto industry. It really is like the Swiss army knife of crypto. Take a look at my recent Chainlink video.
Chainlink offers ONE thing that almost no other chain offers. Massive real-world usage and integration. I’ve mentioned it before; you can find it everywhere in the crypto industry. Chainlink is not just hype. It powers data feeds, oracles, and cross-chain messaging for many blockchains and protocols.
Source:
Chainlink is also showing growth in new verticals. For example, tokenization or enterprise. It is expanding beyond pure DeFi to become TradFi. Think tokenized RWAs and multi-chain layers. This increases its long-term usefulness. A good example is its CCIP functionality. This links over 70 channels. About a year ago it seemed flat and dead. However, these days he is very active, as this photo shows. This also means revenue streams for Chainlink.
Chainlink also has clear symbolism and a scarcity angle. $LINK is capped at 1 billion. Currently, 70% are already in circulation. There is a relatively predictable unlock schedule. Each year, 7% of $LINK tokens are released. This continues until October 2027. $LINK ETFs are also in the works.
🚨 LATEST: Bitwise Chainlink ETF Advances with DTCC Listing Approval.$LINK pic.twitter.com/AW4u9flSrf
– Nathan Jeffay (@NathanOnCrypto) November 11, 2025
$LINK Reserve
However, there is also the $LINK reserve. Every week, Chainlink adds $LINK tokens to this pool, and there are no plans to use up the pool anytime soon. This removes $LINK from circulation and makes the token rare. Currently, there is 800,000 $LINK in the reserve, worth approximately $11 million.
Source: Chainlink blog
However, Chainlink also has some risks to consider. It highly depends on the use of the ecosystem. If DeFi and other protocols reduce the use of Chainlink streams, demand could fall. There are also risks related to competition and innovation. Currently, Chainlink dominates various market sectors. However, new Oracle networks or technological improvements could erode its lead.
The current price of $LINK is around $14. That’s down 25% over the last 30 days. This is due to the current market situation and not its fundamentals. This is a great deal for $LINK.
Stellar ($XLM)
Stellar ($XLM) is my final pick for today’s altcoin list. It offers cross-border on-chain payment solutions. It is designed for fast and inexpensive international transfers. At the same time, it connects disparate financial systems. This is one of its fundamental use cases.
“Stellar has been a leading network for RWA issuance since the beginning… Today, the network hosts over $500 million in RWA (excluding stablecoins), making it the sixth largest channel in terms of RWA issuance.”
Read @MessariCryptoStellar’s RWA report on Stellar ⬇️
– Stellar (@StellarOrg) October 16, 2025
Stellar is also at the forefront of RWAs. It has a great capacity for tokenizing RWA. This opens up a major growth avenue beyond just payments. For example, Mercado Bitcoin announced a $200 million RWA issuance on Stellar. It is the largest investment platform in Latin America.
Source: Messari
This year, Stellar has already partnered with Paxos, Ondo, Etherfuse and SG Forge. It aims to increase the value of RWA held on-chain tenfold compared to last year. This should bring it to $3 billion. It’s ambitious. However, this also shows that the SDF believes that Stellar can significantly increase RWA usage over the course of the year. As part of accelerating this process, Stellar introduced the $PYUSD stablecoin. You can also already find tokenized US Treasuries on Stellar.
Access to $3 billion in RWA just landed on Stellar.
Step 1: Onchain + live on Stellar
Step 2: Transform volume into speed. Place assets in wallets and power daily financial services.
The future of real finance is here. @CNBC pic.twitter.com/9tflNe8Ztg
– Stellar (@StellarOrg) September 25, 2025
It also has a large ecosystem and an established network. Stellar has been around for a few years now. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is behind all this. This gives it credibility and sustainability.
So let’s look at some risks for Stellar. First, there is a large amount of $XLM. 50 billion to be precise. That means it may take widespread adoption to make things happen. For a major upward move, significant volume will be required. Cross-border payments and tokenization have many competitors. For example, Ripple and Ondo Finance, or even Chainlink.
So, the current price of $XLM is around 25 cents with a market cap of $8 billion. After almost 11 years, only 62% are circulating. Like Ripple with $XRP, the team can still dump lots of $XLM on its users.
The verdict
Between these three, the battle is between Zcash and Chainlink. As a Chainlink fan, I would tend to favor Chainlink. However, I cannot deny the incredible growth and presence of Zcash. Not to mention that privacy should be accessible to everyone in crypto. So this round goes to Zcash.
🛑 The State has NO RIGHT to know:
🚗 Your movements
💳 Your finances
🛒 Your shopping habits
🛜 Your online activity
🧑🤝🧑 Your connections
❤️🩹 Your health
✝️ Your religion
or anything else about you!PRIVACY IS A HUMAN RIGHT!#No2IDDigital #notodigitalid pic.twitter.com/YhWIuRiAkF
– Know your human rights (@HumanRights4UK) October 5, 2025
So, which project do you prefer? Let me know in the comments and make sure to join our X and Discord channels.
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz does not constitute financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. All information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the author/reviewer’s accepted levels of risk tolerance, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.
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