Zcash (ZEC) has overtaken Stellar (XLM) in market capitalization, reaching $9.41 billion compared to Stellar's $8.88 billion. This shift is attributed to Zcash's impressive 1,172% year-to-date surge, fueled by growing adoption of its privacy features and increased interest in shielded transactions. In contrast, Stellar has seen a 175% increase in value this year, supported by a 37% rise in full-time developers and a 70% quarterly increase in new developers. Despite these gains, Stellar's daily smart contract invocations have doubled to over 1 million, yet analysts are focused on whether XLM can surpass the $0.5 mark to initiate a new upward trend.