Zcash is rapidly shedding its historical reputation as a niche tool for digital anonymity, transforming instead into a high-stakes institutional hedge against global financial surveillance. According to CryptoSlate's data, the privacy-centric cryptocurrency rocketed roughly 40% in a single trading session on Wednesday, briefly eclipsing the $600 mark to hit a local peak of $603 before […]
The post Zcash just exploded 40% – and the privacy coin rally is no longer just a crypto-native trade appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Zcash extended one of the strongest recent moves in the large-cap segment, setting a new year-to-date high of $590 after rallying more than 80% in six days. The move came as Multicoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain disclosed that the firm has built a “significant position” in ZEC since February, framing the trade as a bet on renewed demand for private, seizure-resistant assets. The disclosure added a high-profile institutional voice to a rally that had already pushed ZEC through key technical levels. Crypto analyst Cheds Trading posted a ZEC chart and described the move as “Strong continuation,” highlighting a breakout structure after ZEC reclaimed a major resistance area on the daily chart. Multicoin Frames ZEC As A Privacy Trade Jain’s thesis centered less on short-term market structure and more on the role of privacy assets in a changing political environment. In a thread on X, he said Multicoin had accumulated a sizable ZEC position over recent months and argued that Zcash represents a return to the original privacy-oriented ideals of crypto. Related Reading: Zcash Breaks Out With 34% Surge—Is $440 The Next Target? “Multicoin has built a significant position in $ZEC since February,” Jain wrote. “Zcash is a return to the cypherpunk ideals crypto was founded on.” He then connected the investment case to concerns around wealth taxes and asset seizure. Jain pointed to proposed policy developments in California as a warning sign and argued that, if governments become more aggressive in targeting private wealth, demand could increase for assets designed to protect financial confidentiality. “California’s proposed wealth seizures are a warning,” Jain wrote. “As the political trend to seize private wealth continues to grow, people and institutions will increasingly seek private assets to protect themselves.” The argument is notable because it distinguishes between censorship resistance and financial privacy. Jain acknowledged Bitcoin’s core strength as an asset that cannot be easily frozen or blocked at the protocol level, but argued that transparent holdings still create a vulnerability if governments can identify owners and target visible balances. Related Reading: Zcash Is Crypto’s Most Mispriced Asset, Cypherpunk CIO Says “Bitcoin is censorship-resistant, no one can freeze your BTC or stop you from using it,” he wrote. “But that doesn’t stop the state from seizing known holdings through wealth taxes.” ZEC Breakout Draws Technical Attention On Wednesday, ZEC climbed to $549, marking a new YTD high, after a six-day surge of 66%. The below daily Binance chart shows ZEC moving decisively above a highlighted resistance zone, with price extending toward the upper range after a strong green daily candle. Cheds’ “Strong continuation” comment captured the technical read from momentum-focused traders: ZEC had not merely bounced from a local base, but appeared to have broken above a prior supply area that had capped earlier advances. That technical backdrop matters because ZEC has historically been a high-beta asset during privacy-coin rotations. When it moves, it often does so quickly. In this case, the price action was reinforced by a clear narrative catalyst: a known crypto investment firm publicly backing the asset as an expression of the privacy thesis. Jain’s final point was the clearest expression of Multicoin’s investment logic. He argued that demand for private, censorship- and seizure-resistant assets is not theoretical but increasingly practical. “We believe that truly private, censorship and seizure resistant assets have clear product-market fit and demand is accelerating,” Jain wrote. “We believe $ZEC is the cleanest way to express this thesis in public markets.” At press time, ZEC traded at $581. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
A cryptocurrency analyst has pointed out how Zcash (ZEC) has broken above the resistance level of a Descending Triangle with its latest surge. Zcash Is Breaking Out Of A Descending Triangle In a new post on X, analyst Ali Martinez has talked about a technical analysis (TA) pattern that Zcash could be breaking out of right now. The pattern in question is a Descending Triangle, which is a type of Triangle. Related Reading: Bitcoin Surge To $72,000 Unleashes $470M Squeeze On Crypto Bears Triangles form whenever an asset observes consolidation between two converging trendlines. Like with other consolidation patterns in TA, the upper line of the channel is likely to be a source of resistance, while the lower one that of support. In the case of a Descending Triangle, the lower trendline is parallel to the time-axis. Thus, as the asset travels through this channel, its range shrinks with time to a net downside. Similar to the Descending Triangle, there is also the Ascending Triangle in TA, involving the opposite setup. In this pattern, the range goes up instead. Now, here is the chart shared by Martinez that shows the Descending Triangle pattern potentially forming in the 1-day ZEC price: As displayed in the above graph, Zcash was moving inside this channel earlier, but the sharp price surge over the past week has meant that it has escaped above the upper level. Currently, it’s still uncertain whether the breakout will sustain, but in case it does, it could prove to be a bullish signal. This is due to the reason that consolidation channel breakouts are generally treated as continuation signals. Thus, if the asset breaks resistance, it’s considered to be headed in the bullish direction, while it falling below support can foreshadow further bearish action. Based on the latest ZEC breakout, Martinez has put the $440 target. It now remains to be seen whether the breakout will hold and if Zcash will see a rally to this level. Related Reading: Cardano Whale Count Climbs To 4-Month High Amid Steady Accumulation ZEC isn’t the only altcoin that has seen the formation of a Descending Triangle. As the analyst has highlighted in another X post, DOGE has been stuck inside such a pattern on the 4-hour timeframe. From the chart, it’s apparent that the 4-hour Dogecoin price has been fast approaching the apex of the triangle, suggesting a breakout could occur soon. Based on the height of the channel, Martinez has noted that a 29% move could follow an escape from the pattern. ZEC Price Zcash has surged to the $316 mark following its sharp rally over the last few days. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Grayscale is making a case for Zcash as the most credible challenger to Bitcoin’s dominance in the digital currency segment, arguing that a relatively small shift in market share could translate into outsized upside for the privacy-focused asset. In a March 18 research note, Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s Head of Research, frames the opportunity in stark terms. Bitcoin still accounts for roughly 90% of the “Currencies Crypto Sector,” a segment the firm estimates at $1.6 trillion across fifteen assets. Zcash, by comparison, represents just a fraction of that total. But Pandl suggests that the gap may not be structural. Related Reading: Zcash Is Crypto’s Most Mispriced Asset, Cypherpunk CIO Says “Bitcoin was the first decentralized digital currency and is still by far the largest as measured by market capitalization,” he writes. “But there are other blockchains with a ‘digital currency’ use case.” Within that competitive set, Grayscale sees Zcash as uniquely positioned to gain ground over time. Grayscale Says Zcash Has 18x Upside The core of the thesis rests on a capability Bitcoin fundamentally lacks. While Bitcoin transactions remain fully transparent on a public ledger, Zcash offers shielded transactions that obscure the sender, receiver, and transaction amount. Pandl argues this distinction is not merely technical, but market-defining. “Zcash offers shielded transactions that hide senders, receivers, and balances,” he notes, adding that “privacy will be essential, in our view, for certain types of users and transactions, and Bitcoin cannot meet this demand.” The implication is clear: if demand for private, censorship-resistant payments increases, whether driven by individuals, institutions, or specific jurisdictions, Zcash operates in a segment where Bitcoin is structurally limited. Rather than competing head-on across all use cases, it targets a subset of transactions where transparency becomes a constraint rather than a feature. Grayscale’s second pillar is less about design and more about trajectory. Zcash, now approaching a decade in operation, is described as entering a new phase marked by rising adoption of its privacy features and renewed capital inflows. “Zcash is almost 10 years old but seems to be entering a new chapter,” Pandl writes. “Use of its shielding technology is picking up, underscoring market interest for privacy-preserving digital currencies. And new capital is entering the ecosystem to support wallet development and Zcash mining.” The valuation argument follows directly from those two dynamics. Zcash’s ZEC token currently sits at around $4 billion in market capitalization, representing approximately 0.3% of the broader digital currency segment. Related Reading: Zcash Is The Last Possible 1000x In Crypto, Venture Capitalist Says Grayscale’s scenario is deliberately conservative in its assumptions but aggressive in its implications. If Zcash were to capture just 5% of that same segment, its valuation would increase roughly eighteenfold. The math hinges less on absolute growth in crypto markets and more on relative positioning within the existing category. Pandl is explicit about the trade-offs. Zcash, he notes, is “smaller and more volatile than Bitcoin and therefore has a higher risk profile.” The upside case is tied to a reallocation of market share, not a guaranteed expansion of demand. That view is not isolated. Several prominent figures have recently outlined similarly asymmetric scenarios for Zcash. Cypherpunk Technologies CIO Will McEvoy has described Zcash as “crypto’s most mispriced asset,” while Alliance DAO co-founder Qiao Wang has called ZEC the “last 1000x in crypto.” BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has forecast ZEC reaching $1,000 as a “first stop,” with a longer-term target of $10,000. At press time, ZEC traded at $232.93. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Cypherpunk Technologies CIO Will McEvoy is making a blunt case for Zcash: the market is undervaluing ZEC because it still has no coherent way to price privacy. In a thread published Tuesday, McEvoy argued that the discount is especially striking as AI-driven surveillance expands and demand for financial confidentiality becomes easier to justify. McEvoy’s core claim is simple. “Zcash is the most mispriced asset in crypto because privacy is the most mispriced asset in society,” he wrote. “The market has no real framework for valuing privacy so it gets ignored. The upside is asymmetric nonetheless.” Why Zcash Could Be ‘Mispriced’ He built that argument around relative size. At the time of his post, McEvoy put ZEC at $263 with a $4.4 billion market capitalization. Against that, he listed Bitcoin at $1.45 trillion, gold at $34.8 trillion, offshore wealth at $11.3 trillion, stablecoins at $312 billion, and Monero at $6.8 billion. The point was less about direct comparability than scale: by McEvoy’s framing, Zcash remains “just a rounding error” in every market it could plausibly intersect. Related Reading: Zcash Is The Last Possible 1000x In Crypto, Venture Capitalist Says That thesis runs through each benchmark. Relative to Bitcoin, McEvoy argued Zcash is still tiny enough that even a modest re-rating would imply a large move. He wrote that if ZEC reached 0.5% of Bitcoin’s value, it would imply a price of $446, or about 1.7 times higher. At 1%, the implied price rises to $891; at 2%, $1,782; and at 5%, $4,456. His summary line was as compressed as the valuation case itself: “Zcash is encrypted Bitcoin.” The offshore wealth comparison is more pointed. McEvoy described privacy not as a niche preference, but as something people have historically paid for at scale. “There is $11.3 trillion in offshore wealth,” he wrote. “People pay a premium for privacy. They always have. They always will.” From there, he argued that if Zcash captured 0.1% of that market, the implied price would be $680. At 0.5%, it would be $3,402, and at 1%, $6,804. “Zcash is a Swiss bank account in your pocket,” he added. His gold comparison extends the same logic into a more traditional store-of-value frame. “Gold is private. You can hold it. No one knows how much you have,” McEvoy wrote. “Zcash has the same properties but it’s digital, portable, and programmable.” On that basis, he modeled ZEC at $1,048 if it reached 0.05% of gold’s value, $2,095 at 0.1%, and $10,477 at 0.5%. Related Reading: Zcash Surges Post-SEC Probe: Is a Fresh Yearly High on the Horizon? McEvoy also positioned Zcash as a response to the visibility built into much of crypto’s existing payment infrastructure. “Stablecoin transactions are tracked. Wallets are surveilled,” he wrote, before laying out price scenarios based on ZEC reaching 5%, 10%, or 25% of the stablecoin market. Those levels implied prices of $939, $1,877, and $4,692, respectively. He also compared Zcash to Monero. McEvoy argued Zcash offers “stronger cryptography, optional transparency for compliance, and better scalability,” then laid out a simple relative-value table: parity with Monero would imply $410 for ZEC, double Monero’s value would imply $819, and five times Monero’s value would imply $2,047. “The privacy coin throne is not yet claimed,” he wrote. His closing point tied the whole thesis to a broader technological shift. “Artificial intelligence is the attack. Zcash is the defense,” McEvoy said. “AI decodes all the data. Zcash encrypts all the data. AI is the surveillance state. Zcash is the sovereign individual. As AI advances, privacy becomes more valuable, not less.” At press time, ZEC traded at $244.77. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Alliance DAO co-founder Qiao Wang claims Zcash may be “the last possible 1000x in crypto.” His argument is not framed around a near-term catalyst, but around a long-duration macro and technology thesis in which privacy becomes the final major unresolved market gap in digital assets. Why Zcash Could Be The Last 1000x Posting on X on March 15, Wang wrote, “continue to believe that Zcash is the last possible 1000x in crypto. Gov overreach, money printing, rise in socialism, quantum. All massive multi-decade tailwinds.” He paired that with an investment posture that sounded more like a Bitcoin-style conviction trade than a tactical altcoin call: “as with btc, don’t trade it. Accumulate during periods of apathy and hold it for 10-20yrs.” continue to believe that zcash is the last possible 1000x in crypto. gov overreach, money printing, rise in socialism, quantum. all massive multi-decade tailwinds. as with btc, don’t trade it. accumulate during periods of apathy and hold it for 10-20yrs. — qw (@QwQiao) March 15, 2026 The core of Wang’s reasoning is scale. In a follow-up post, he argued that “there’s still lots of possible 10x’s and maybe 100x’s, but a 1000x requires an extraordinarily large tam.” In other words, the bar for that kind of return is not just technical novelty or strong narrative. It requires a market large enough to absorb a multi-decade re-rating. Related Reading: Arthur Hayes Bets On MSTR, Metaplanet And Zcash As Bitcoin Liquidity Turns That idea was quickly reinforced by others in the thread, most notably Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz, who pointed back to a privacy thesis he published in November under the title, “The Last 1000x in Crypto: A Privacy Thesis.” His summary was blunt: “Bitcoin started with three problems: i) legitimacy, ii) programmability and scale, iii) privacy. Bitcoin solved i) by becoming a trillion dollar asset, Solana/Ethereum solved ii), and iii) is the last remaining piece.” Mumtaz’s broader argument is that crypto’s biggest order-of-magnitude gains historically came from solving foundational deficits in the original Bitcoin design. First came legitimacy, then programmability and scale. Privacy, in his view, is the remaining open branch. Related Reading: Zcash Foundation Investigation Closed: SEC Decision Sparks 12% Jump In ZEC Price He wrote that “improvements will continue to happen on this programmability/scale branch and the Bitcoin branch, but I’m not sure we’ll see another 1,000x improvement. That is to say, I think future improvements are marginal, not order of magnitude in scale.” By contrast, he argued, “the privacy branch is the last thing remaining for asymmetric upside.” Why Zcash rather than privacy tech in the abstract? That part of the conversation turned less on code and more on credibility. Awa Sun Yin, co-founder of Anoma and a board member at Shielded Labs, recounted a rumor that circulated “in the trenches” late last year: that someone influential enough to get a meeting with the US president had been moving through political circles arguing that Bitcoin and crypto lacked privacy because “holdings and balances were visible to everyone – and seizable,” and recommending Zcash instead. Awa said the key point was not whether the story was true. “What’s relevant is that when you read or hear this story, you have an easy time believing it,” Awa wrote. “Whereas the story wouldn’t be believable if the person were recommending Monero or any other privacy coin instead of Zcash.” At press time, Zcash traded at $231.59. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Foundry’s move could help diversify Zcash’s mining ecosystem, which has historically been concentrated among a small number of pools.
The capital will be used to expand development of the Zcash (ZEC) protocol and its privacy-focused self-custodial mobile wallet, Zodl.
The longtime bitcoin backer and founder of DCG said privacy coins represent an asymmetric bet today, similar to the early days of Bitcoin.
Zcash (ZEC) is back on investors’ radar after U.S. regulators ended a long-running investigation into the Zcash Foundation without enforcement. The decision removes a key source of uncertainty that had followed the privacy-focused cryptocurrency since 2023. Related Reading: XRP Price Is Approaching A Key Decision Zone, But Structure Is Still Firmly Bullish Markets reacted quickly, with ZEC posting double-digit gains in some sessions and stabilizing above the $400 level. While regulatory clarity has helped improve sentiment, questions around governance and long-term development remain. ZEC's price trends sideways after a violent move upwards on the daily chart. Source: ZECUSD on Tradingview SEC Closes Two-Year Zcash Investigation The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed it has concluded its review of the Zcash Foundation, which began with a subpoena issued on August 31, 2023. The inquiry focused on potential securities law concerns tied to Zcash’s funding model, governance structure, and token distribution. According to the foundation, the SEC does not intend to recommend enforcement action, fines, or operational changes. This outcome marks a notable shift for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, which have often faced heightened regulatory scrutiny due to concerns about illicit use. The decision suggests that Zcash’s privacy features alone were not deemed sufficient grounds for action under existing securities laws. The closure also aligns with a broader trend of the SEC withdrawing from several high-profile crypto investigations in recent months under new leadership. For Zcash, the end of the probe removes a regulatory overhang that had weighed on investor confidence for nearly two years. Market Reaction and Price Projections Following the announcement, ZEC surged between 5% and 14% across major exchanges, briefly testing the $440–$450 resistance zone. Currently, the token is trading around $427–$442, holding above the $400 psychological support level. Technically, ZEC remains in a consolidation phase after falling from its January high near $535. Resistance is clustered around $450–$470, while support sits near $400, with a deeper floor around $350 if sentiment weakens. Some analysts point to a symmetrical triangle pattern on longer timeframes, often viewed as a continuation structure after strong rallies. A confirmed breakout above the upper trendline could open the door toward higher levels, including a potential retest of the $1,000 mark later in 2026. Governance Uncertainty Clouds the Outlook Despite the regulatory win, internal challenges persist. Earlier this month, the full development team at Electric Coin Company (ECC), which has led core Zcash development, resigned following a dispute with its nonprofit board. Former ECC leaders cited deteriorating working conditions and have since announced plans to launch a new privacy-focused wallet, cashZ, based on Zcash technology. Related Reading: Arthur Hayes Bets On MSTR, Metaplanet And Zcash As Bitcoin Liquidity Turns The Zcash Foundation has stated that network operations and protocol stability remain unaffected by the personnel changes. Still, the departures have raised concerns about governance stability, development continuity, and long-term coordination within the ecosystem. Cover image from ChatGPT, ZECUSD chart from Tradingview
Arthur Hayes is positioning for a 2026 liquidity rebound, arguing that Bitcoin’s weak 2025 wasn’t a referendum on “crypto narratives” so much as a straightforward dollar-credit story. In his latest essay, “Frowny Cloud,” the Maelstrom CIO says he is adding risk via Strategy (MSTR), Japan’s Metaplanet, and Zcash (ZEC) as he expects US dollar liquidity to inflect higher after a year in which Bitcoin lagged both gold and US tech stocks. Hayes frames 2025 as an awkward year for the standard cross-asset shorthand that treats Bitcoin as either digital gold or a high-beta proxy for US tech. In his telling, Bitcoin behaved “as expected” under tightening conditions, while gold and the Nasdaq 100 rose for different reasons despite falling dollar liquidity. Related Reading: Here’s Why Bitcoin Volatility Sparks Fresh Attention On MicroStrategy He argues gold’s bid is being driven by sovereign balance sheets rather than retail mania, rooted in distrust of US Treasury exposure after prior asset-freeze precedents. “If the US president steals your money, it’s an instant zero. Does it then matter what price you buy gold at?” he writes, casting central banks as price-insensitive buyers. On equities, Hayes leans into an industrial-policy interpretation of the AI trade. His claim is that the US and China have effectively treated “winning AI” as strategic, dulling the usual market discipline and helping explain why the Nasdaq decoupled from his dollar-liquidity index in 2025. That divergence matters because it sets up his core takeaway for 2026: Bitcoin needs expanding dollar liquidity to regain momentum. “Bitcoin and the Nasdaq rise when dollar liquidity expands. The only problem is the recent divergence,” Hayes writes, before returning to the “vicissitudes of dollar liquidity” as the primary driver he wants to track. The Three-Pillar Liquidity Pitch Hayes’ 2026 outlook hinges on a sharp rebound in dollar credit creation. He cites three channels: a growing Fed balance sheet via Reserve Management Purchases (RMP), commercial-bank lending into “strategic industries,” and lower mortgage rates catalyzed by policy-driven demand for mortgage-backed securities. In his account, quantitative tightening faded as a dominant headwind in late 2025, with QT ending in December and RMP beginning as a new, steady buyer. He claims RMP “at a minimum” expands the balance sheet by $40 billion per month, and expects that pace to rise as government funding needs increase. The second leg is bank credit creation, which he says accelerated in 4Q25, with large lenders willing to extend loans where government equity stakes or offtake agreements reduce default risk. The third is housing: Hayes points to Trump-backed directives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to deploy $200 billion toward MBS purchases, arguing that lower mortgage rates could unlock a familiar wealth effect and, by extension, more credit. Related Reading: Bitcoin Accumulation Continues: Strategy Purchases 1,287 BTC Amid Rising Prices He ties the pieces together with a simple conclusion: if liquidity turns, Bitcoin should follow. “Bitcoin … and dollar liquidity bottomed around the same time,” he writes, arguing that the next major leg depends less on sentiment than on renewed credit expansion. MSTR, Metaplanet, And ZCash Hayes describes himself as a “degen speculator” and says Maelstrom is already “nearly fully invested,” but he still wants “MOAR risk” to capture upside convexity if Bitcoin reclaims higher levels. Rather than using perpetuals or options, he says he’s long Strategy and Metaplanet for levered exposure via corporate balance sheets. His timing argument is valuation-relative: he compares each company’s “DAT” to Bitcoin priced in the relevant currency (yen for Metaplanet, dollars for Strategy) and says those ratios sit near the low end of the past two years, after being “down substantially” from mid-2025 peaks. He adds a key condition: “If Bitcoin can retake $110,000, investors will get the itch to go long Bitcoin through these vehicles. Given the leverage embedded in the capital structure of these businesses, they will outperform Bitcoin on the upside.” He also flags continued accumulation of Zcash. Hayes argues the departure of developers at Electric Coin Company (ECC) is not bearish: “We continue to add to our Zcash position. The departure of the devs at ECC is not bearish. I firmly believe they will ship better, more impactful products within their own for-profit entity. I’m thankful for the opportunity to buy discounted ZEC from weak hands.” At press time, MSTR traded at $179.33. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
The Zcash protocol remains unaffected despite the governance clash and restructuring with Bootstrap.
Zcash (ZEC) suffered the steepest decline among top-tier digital assets on Jan. 8, plunging approximately 20% amid a collision of governance turmoil and a leverage-driven market flush. According to CryptoSlate data, Zcash fell to a month-low of $382, making it the day’s biggest loser on the Top 100 leaderboard. This price performance decoupled violently from […]
The post Zcash just plummeted 20% after its entire team walked out, exposing a boardroom battle over the project’s assets appeared first on CryptoSlate.
ECC's CEO, Josh Swihart, claims the team was forced to leave because of changes that made their work untenable.
Cypherpunk’s ZEC position now accounts for more than a third of its stated 5% accumulation target, following a series of recent purchases.
The Zcash (ZEC) price has rallied above the psychological $500 level, providing a bullish outlook for the privacy-focused token. This comes amid a notable surge in whale accumulation and derivatives activity among crypto traders. Why Zcash (ZEC) Price Rallied Above $500 Despite Crypto Market Decline CoinMarketCap data show that the Zcash (ZEC) price has rallied above $500 again, up over 20% in the last week. This comes despite the crypto market downtrend, with Bitcoin trading in a tight range just below the psychological $90,000 level. The ZEC surge above $500 comes amid a significant increase in whale accumulation, which has contributed to this price surge. Related Reading: Zcash Explodes 700% Since September – What’s Driving The Rally Amid The Bear Market? Nansen data show a 47% increase in ZEC whale holdings, with the top 100 addresses now holding 66% of the token’s total supply. This has likely created a supply shock, sparking a rise in the Zcash (ZEC) price. Notably, there has been a 55.36% drop in the supply held by exchanges, further highlighting the accumulation trend, with investors likely moving their coins off-exchanges for long-term holding. On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain also highlighted the accumulation trend among these whales. In an X post, Lookchain revealed two newly created wallets that withdrew 26,241 ZEC ($13.5 million) from Binance. In another post, the on-chain analytics platform revealed that another whale withdrew 7,714 ZEC ($4.12 million) from Kraken. Lookonchain had also drawn attention to a whale that withdrew 30,000 ZEC ($13.25 million) from Binance last week. Activity in the derivatives market has also contributed to the Zcash (ZEC) price rally above $500. CoinGlass data show an increase in the altcoin’s open interest, indicating that traders are increasing their positions. Most of these traders are currently long with the long/short ratio above 1. This recovery marks a positive for the privacy token, which had dropped to as low as $310 earlier this month. ZEC is notably the best-performing crypto among the top tokens with a year-to-date (YTD) gain of around 800%. ‘Next Stop Is $1,000’ BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes declared in an X post that the next stop for the Zcash (ZEC) price is $1,000 following its recovery above $500. This represents a potential 100% gain from its current price level. The BitMEX co-founder has been bullish on the privacy token for some time now, predicting it could eventually reach $10,000. Related Reading: The Bitcoin Bull And Bear Cases That Crypto Traders Should Know About Meanwhile, Zcash’s co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson suggested that the Zcash (ZEC) price will continue to rally because of its good product, scarcity, and regulatory atmosphere. He noted that privacy is now widely recognized as necessary in crypto. As such, the privacy narrative is expected to keep fueling this price surge. At the time of writing, the Zcash (ZEC) price is trading at around $536, up over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
Zcash’s latest price movement has pushed the privacy-focused cryptocurrency back into the spotlight, as momentum builds around a potential breakout from a long-standing resistance zone. Related Reading: What’s Happening With The Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Dogecoin Prices Recently? After a sharp climb this week, traders are watching whether ZEC can extend its gains or whether technical pressures will stall the advance. The token surged more than 9% to reach around $455, standing out in a broader market that has mostly moved sideways despite renewed optimism following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy signals. Rising demand, shifting fee structures, and notable whale activity have all contributed to ZEC’s strong performance, but the technical picture remains mixed as the asset approaches a critical threshold. ZEC's price shows bullish momentum on the daily chart. Source: ZECUSD on Tradingview Dynamic Fee Proposal and Whale Demand Lift ZEC Zcash’s rally coincides with a key development effort from its contributors. Developers and Shielded Labs proposed transitioning from fixed transaction fees to a dynamic fee market, a change aimed at improving cost efficiency during periods of high activity. Market activity also intensified. Trading volumes rose sharply, and Cypherpunk Technologies expanded its ZEC holdings while adding Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox as an advisor. On-chain data indicated accumulation from large holders, including a wallet that increased its position and sent tokens to Hyperliquid to establish a long exposure. Such behavior has tightened the circulating supply at a moment when ZEC is testing historical resistance. Zcash’s broader performance this year further adds to the current market narrative. The token has posted returns exceeding 600% over the past 12 months, helped by rising investor interest in privacy assets and a constrained supply profile. ZEC Tests Multi-Touch Resistance as Bulls Aim for Continuation Despite the strong surge, Zcash now sits near a resistance zone, roughly between $460 and $485, that has repeatedly halted rallies in previous cycles. Technical readings show improving momentum on lower timeframes, supported by stable RSI levels and a constructive parabolic SAR structure. Spot inflow data has also flipped positive, suggesting buyers are re-entering rather than exiting on strength. If ZEC breaks above the $472–$485 range, analysts note potential upside targets at $506, $556, and possibly even $600–$620. Clearing this region would mark a shift from the most recent lower-high pattern and could accelerate trend continuation. Mixed Long-Term Outlook as New Cycle Signals Emerge However, some longer-term indicators raise caution. Wave analysis from multiple chart views suggests ZEC may have completed a major corrective structure earlier in the cycle, followed by a 60% decline and a weaker recovery. Bearish divergences in momentum tools and a rising parallel channel on shorter timeframes hint that the current bounce could still be corrective. A rejection at the resistance level may lead to a retracement toward $430, followed by the $370–$398 zone. A deeper breakdown could push prices below $300 if bearish structures reassert themselves. Related Reading: Do Kwon Falls Hard — Terraform Labs Chief Gets 15 Years For Wire Fraud For now, Zcash’s price action sits at a pivotal moment. A decisive move above resistance could extend the recent surge, but failure to break through may shift momentum back toward consolidation, or even a broader downtrend. Cover image from ChatGPT, ZECUSD chart from Tradingview
As the whole crypto market bled, Zcash (ZEC) started December with a massive one-day pullback, leading the losses among top cryptocurrencies. While some market observers suggest that the altcoin is positioned for a major move, others have warned that the price risks another major correction in the coming weeks. Related Reading: Is Strategy Buying Bitcoin Again? Saylor’s ‘Green Dots’ Suggest Yes Zcash Loses Key Support Levels Amid Crash Following the late Sunday market correction, Zcash has lost crucial levels and fallen to one-month lows. Over the past three months, the cryptocurrency has seen a parabolic rally, surging over 1,775% to its all-time high (ATH) of $750 in early November. Since its ATH rally, the altcoin has been trading within the $440-$720 levels, bouncing between the range’s upper and lower boundaries amid the recent market volatility. However, the end-of-November pullback saw ZEC’s price unsuccessfully retest its key support area, closing the day below this area for the first time in nearly a month. After losing this zone, Zcash continued to drop below other key support levels, breaking down the $400 barrier and hitting a local low of $328 on Monday morning before bouncing to the $340 area. Amid this performance, some market observers warned that the altcoin could be in trouble and further bleeding may occur in the coming weeks. Sjuul from AltCryptoGems highlighted that ZEC registers the biggest price drops in the weekly and daily timeframes, with declines of 40.2% and 24%, respectively. The analyst previously pointed out that the cryptocurrency lost its uptrend after falling below the EMA200, recording “a perfect bearish retest followed by a strong rejection” last week. As a result, Sjuul suggested that if Zcash did not reclaim the key moving average, the cryptocurrency would be positioned for a breakdown to lower support levels. Similarly, Altcoin Sherpa considers that ZEC could drop another 30%-40% to the $200 area after losing the crucial $440 support. Nonetheless, he added that the price will likely see short-term bounces during its retracement. ZEC’s Correction: Nothing To Worry About? Mert Mumtaz, Helius co-founder and CEO, affirmed that a correction after a 700% rally “is normal,” adding that the privacy token “looks great” on higher timeframes. Notably, the cryptocurrency still shows 700% and 485% increases on the three-month and one-year timeframes. The CEO also highlighted Zcash’s strengths: “privacy is not a narrative, private money is the entire purpose of crypto,” suggesting that the altcoin is positioned to challenge other leading cryptocurrencies like XRP in the future. Meanwhile, another pseudonym market watcher considers that Zcash is preparing for a big move despite the correction. According to X analyst Make Sense, the cryptocurrency is at a make-or-break level after falling to the $320 mark, its first major support area below the November range. If ZEC holds the current range, the price could reclaim its recently lost range and bounce to its $500-$600 mid-range. On the contrary, if it loses its current levels, the cryptocurrency could retest the $280 and even $200 area, he affirmed, before a trend reversal. Related Reading: Will Bitcoin (BTC) End 2025 In Green? November Close May Hold The Key “This is where market makers decide the next trend: bounce early → mid-range rally or deep sweep → full trend reversal. Either way, volatility is about to explode,” he explained. As of this writing, Zcash is trading at $338, a 20% decline in the monthly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
A privacy coin is headed for Wall Street, and the wrapper says everything about what happens when a technology built for discretion tries to move through the most surveilled pipes in global finance. Grayscale’s bid to list a Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca (ticker ZCSH) marks the first serious attempt to wrap a privacy coin […]
The post Grayscale’s Zcash ETF: Regulated privacy, or privacy in name only? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Delphi Digital researcher Simon Shockey is arguing that the real story in Zcash is no longer just its price – despite ZEC having one of the most eye-popping rallies of this cycle in recent months. “The most interesting thing about ZEC today is not the price,” he wrote on X. “It’s the fact that a GBTC-style discount dislocation just appeared around ZCSH.” For Shockey, the Zcash trust setup only makes sense when viewed through the lens of what happened with Grayscale’s Bitcoin product. He reminds readers that “funds were built, and later blown up, on two different GBTC trades.” The first was the premium arbitrage, where Grayscale allowed accredited investors to subscribe at NAV with a six-month lock while GBTC traded at a “~30–40%” premium in public markets. Will Zcash Follow The GBTC Playbook? The playbook, he writes, became almost mechanical: “subscribe at NAV, lock for six months, hedge BTC exposure with CME shorts, sell GBTC at a premium, pocket the spread and lever it.” It was so widely adopted that “every TradFi family office, hedge fund tourist, and crypto-native desk was running it. It became the trade. Until, well, it didn’t…” Related Reading: Why is Zcash Surging? Analysts Break Down the ZEC Rally and What Comes Next In February 2021, after years of trading rich to NAV, GBTC flipped to a discount. Anyone mid-lockup was now long an over-priced wrapper, paying to maintain a hedge and watching the discount widen to “-30%, -40%, even -45%.” Shockey calls that dislocation “career/cycle-ending almost overnight,” and notes that it helped detonate players like 3AC, BlockFi, Genesis and DCG. But he stresses that GBTC’s story had a second act: once the discount was entrenched, “a different trade emerged: buy GBTC at a discount, wait for regulatory clarity or ETF approval, redeem at NAV, capture the collapse in the discount.” Value-oriented funds “were early and underwater for a while. But they were ultimately right. The discount evaporated as ETF approval became inevitable.” Shockey’s contention is that a structurally similar phase may now be opening around Grayscale’s Zcash trust. “This morning Grayscale filed to convert ZCSH, their Zcash trust, into an ETP,” he writes. “That filing immediately creates the early outline of a GBTC-style discount trade.” He highlights that ZCSH recently traded around 33.50 dollars per share, even though “yesterday’s trust data, with a lower ZEC price, showed NAV around forty-one dollars per share.” By his math that is “still close to a 20 percent discount. Every ZCSH share is priced materially below the ZEC it represents.” With an implied 0.0817 ZEC per share, “you are effectively getting ZEC exposure at ~$410 per ZEC when spot is well above that.” Related Reading: Why Is Zcash Thriving? Paid Promotion Or Real Momentum? The key structural shift is the proposed move from a closed trust to an exchange-traded product with redemptions. “The current trust structure does not allow redemptions,” Shockey notes. “The proposed ETP would, with one-to-one withdrawals of the actual ZEC held.” If regulators sign off, “the discount should tighten and ZCSH should move toward NAV. This is exactly what happened with GBTC as ETF approval became more realistic.” He is careful to add: “Not guaranteed. Not the same trade. But structurally very similar.” On the money-making angle, Shockey is explicit. “The discount closing is the cleanest angle. Buying ZCSH at a 20 percent discount and selling after convergence is the purest version of the trade.” Beyond that, “there is optionality if ZEC rerates during the approval window. If the privacy-oriented store-of-value narrative strengthens, ZEC can rise while the discount closes. That creates a second leg of upside that GBTC did not offer until very late.” He argues that a ZEC ETP “could unlock new demand,” since “most funds/investors cannot hold ZEC directly due to custody and mandate issues. An ETP solves that. New pools of capital often tighten discounts by themselves.” Narrative and political tailwinds, in his view, are real. “Bitcoin’s lack of privacy is back in focus. The quantum-risk discussion is getting louder.” He points to mainstream airtime, including comments from VanEck’s CEO about Bitcoin’s shortcomings and ZEC as a potential hedge, as a signal that the story has escaped pure crypto-Twitter. His closing summary captures the asymmetric, time-bounded nature of the bet: “If markets keep leaning toward the idea that ZEC is absorbing the role Bitcoin stepped away from, then ZCSH becomes the cleanest vehicle to express that view. You get ZEC exposure in public markets, which could become a major driver of rerating as flows pick up, plus a built-in twenty percent discount that only exists until the ETP is approved. ZODL?” At press time, Zcash traded at $509.84. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The cryptocurrency market continues to bleed, with the total market cap now hovering around $2.89 trillion. Zcash (ZEC), one of the privacy tokens daring to defy the fearful market sentiment, has experienced a steady, choppy price action as market forces struggle to establish control. Interestingly, a prominent market analyst with the X username PlanD has discovered significant bearish potential on the horizon. Related Reading: Why is Zcash Surging? Analysts Break Down the ZEC Rally and What Comes Next Zcash To Fall To $281 – Is The Party Over? Despite its performance amid the general crypto market correction, Zcash struggles to break past a formidable barrier in the $750 price zone. In the last week, the privacy coin experienced this rejection in the two instances it climbed above the $700 price mark. According to PlanD, ZEC’s multiple rejections are also threatening the viability of an ascending channel that began in October. Notably, Zcash has broken below the lower boundary of this channel at $672, in successive moments, signaling increasing bearish pressure and weakening upward structure. If the market bears assume a dominant hand of the privacy coin, PlanD is projecting a price crash to around $281, indicating a potential 50% price loss from the present market prices. PlanD’s prediction is similar to that by fellow analyst Ali Martinez, who has since tipped ZEC could correct to around $325, following its struggles at the $750 price zone. However, while technical indicators point to an impending price collapse, strong fundamental developments provide bullishness for a continuous price uptrend. These include institutional endorsements as Cypherpunk Technologies, backed by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which has recently launched a $50 million Zcash treasury strategy. Furthermore, the upcoming Zcash halving event, slated for November 28, adds another layer of bullish undertone as an increase in token scarcity is expected to drive demand pressure and subsequently boost prices. Related Reading: Dogecoin (DOGE) Falls Again as Trader Sentiment Turns Increasingly Bearish ZEC Price Overview At the time of writing, Zcash trades at $490.52, reflecting a drastic 24.11% decline in the past 24 hours as total crypto liquidation crossed $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, daily trading volume is down by 6.1% and valued at $2.24 billion. Nevertheless, ZEC’s monthly performance stands at a staggering 99.41% representing the coin’s defying bullish performance during a time when the total crypto market cap has reduced by 28%. In the last year alone, the privacy coin has surged by 928%, highlighting a remarkable and sustained bullish trajectory. With a market cap of $7.8 billion, ZEC now ranks as the 13th largest cryptocurrency in the world. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview
Monero's network activity reflects the real-world demand for privacy coins, but Zcash’s spike looks more like a high-beta market trade that is no longer tied to network activity.
Zcash (ZEC) is back in the spotlight after a dramatic rebound. Following Monday’s steep fall to roughly $548, the privacy coin has bounced sharply, gaining 12% in the last 24 hours and reclaiming the $670 level. Related Reading: Bitcoin To Suffer 40% Crash From All-Time High? Analyst Reveals ‘Final Target’ After surging more than 1,500% year-to-date and rallying 175% in the past month, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency is now testing a major bullish breakout pattern, leaving traders wondering what comes next and whether ZEC can truly sustain this momentum. ZEC's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: ZECUSD on Tradingview Institutional Accumulation Fuels a Powerful Upswing A major catalyst behind Zcash’s meteoric rise has been aggressive accumulation from high-profile institutional players. The newly rebranded Cypherpunk Technologies, backed by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has snapped up 233,644 ZEC, worth roughly $150 million. This stash now represents around 1.25% of the circulating supply, with the firm openly declaring plans to raise its holdings to at least 5%. This level of concentration has tightened liquid supply and injected strong confidence across the market. Supporting the trend, long-time privacy advocate Arthur Hayes has openly backed ZEC, predicting a run to $1,000 and even suggesting Zcash could eventually reach 20% of Bitcoin’s value. The upcoming November 2025 halving has added another bullish layer. With block rewards set to fall by 50%, ZEC will enter a sharply reduced-issuance environment, historically a strong driver of scarcity-led rallies across major cryptocurrencies. Technical Indicators Signal a Potential Zcash (ZEC) Breakout On the technical front, Zcash is close to confirming a classic inverse head and shoulders formation on the 4-hour chart. The neckline sits around $690, and a decisive breakout above this level could open a path toward $956, a nearly 40% upside from recent prices. ZEC is also trading above its 50-day EMA at $613, while a green Supertrend signal hints at sustained bullish momentum. Still, analysts caution that ZEC must hold above the EMA to avoid invalidating the formation. Key support remains at $600–$605, where momentum has recently cooled. Coordinated Influence and Growing Privacy Demand Beyond charts and supply mechanics, market observers say a coordinated narrative push is also at play. Crypto media figure Ran Neuner believes influential industry players are rallying behind Zcash to spotlight privacy as a critical next frontier. According to him, this is less a pump-and-dump and more a long-term mission around compliant, user-controlled privacy, a feature that differentiates ZEC from rivals like Monero. Related Reading: XRP Supply Shock Ahead? ETFs Could Consume It All, Analyst Predicts If ZEC can maintain its breakout structure and demand for privacy-focused assets continues to rise, Zcash may be positioning itself not just for a short-term spike, but for a serious challenge to broader market rankings in the months ahead. Cover image from ChatGPT, ZECUSD chart from Tradingview
The native token of the crypto exchange WhiteBIT (WBT) is leading the mid-week altcoin market after a significant 20% surge over the past 24 hours. This performance follows the announcement of a key partnership with Durrah AlFodah Holding to promote the growth of blockchain technology in Saudi Arabia. Related Reading: Solana Reclaims $140 As Second Wave Of SOL ETFs Debut – Is A Rebound Coming? WhiteBIT Secures Strategic Collab In Saudi Arabia On Tuesday, top crypto exchange WhiteBIT unveiled it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Durrah AlFodah Holding, represented by His Royal Highness Prince Naif Bin Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, aiming to drive the Kingdom’s development in blockchain technology, digital finance, and data infrastructure. According to the announcement, the partnership aligns with the strategic pillars of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 program, which seeks to foster economic diversification, technological innovation, and digital transformation across the Kingdom’s public and private sectors. Therefore, it will set the foundation for key projects within the Kingdom, including stock market tokenization, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) guidance, and the creation of national data computing and mining centers. Under the agreement, WhiteBIT will provide technological expertise and infrastructure design, while Durrah AlFodah will facilitate the crypto exchange’s market entry, regulatory engagement, and partnership development across Saudi Arabia. The move follows the exchange’s expansion to multiple jurisdictions, including Australia, Croatia, Italy, and Kazakhstan, as well as its recent dual entry into the Argentine and Brazilian markets, after key regulatory advancements in the two largest countries in South America. The collaboration reportedly envisions the creation of a joint venture company between WhiteBIT and Durrah AlFodah to manage and scale its national-scale initiatives. Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of W Group, the global fintech ecosystem that includes WhiteBIT, affirmed: It is an honor to work alongside the Holding of His Royal Highness Prince Naif Bin Abdullah Bin Saud to build the foundations of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation. Together, we aim to establish secure and sovereign blockchain systems that will shape the Kingdom’s technological future. WBT Leads Mid-Week Altcoin Market Following the news, WhiteBIT’s WBT token jumped from the $51 level to a new all-time high (ATH) of $62.96 before stabilizing between the $60-$61 area. This performance builds on the remarkable WBT’s price action during the recent market volatility, which has seen many leading cryptocurrencies reach multi-month lows. Notably, the altcoin rallied to new highs in late June and consolidated within its $40-$47 range during the broader market rally between July and October. However, as the market entered a corrective phase in early November, WBT went against the current and broke out of its local range, hitting a new ATH at the time. Related Reading: Analyst Shares Worst-Case Scenario For Bitcoin (BTC) As Price Shows Concerning Signs Since then, the altcoin traded between the $50-$55 area, retesting the local range lows on Tuesday morning before the latest breakout to its new ATH. According to CoinGecko data, this performance crowns WBT as one of the leading cryptocurrencies in the past 24 hours, alongside Zcash (ZEC) and Starknet (STRK). Moreover, the altcoin, which ranks 13th among all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, is currently the only token with double-digit gains among the top 20 cryptocurrencies. As of this writing, WBT is trading at $60.62, a 9.8% increase for the altcoin in the weekly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
After years in the wilderness, Zcash (ZEC) has staged a roughly 740% price “pump” this year, with analysts linking the move to surging demand for on-chain privacy and a cluster of high-profile endorsements. The speed and timing of the rally have ignited a heated debate on X: is Zcash’s resurgence driven by coordinated paid promotion, or by genuine improvements in its technology and monetary design? The flashpoint came from infrastructure founder Mert Mumtaz (@0xMert_), who mocked the idea that a single “mega-whale” is paying off every visible supporter. “There’s a person in crypto so rich that they are simultaneously paying off Cobie, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, me, Tim Ferris, [Arthur] Hayes, Gainzy, path, Ansem, the Winklevoss Twins, Toly [Yakovenko] and more. (all of whom require just one final OTC KOL deal to finally make it). Either that or I’m retarded.” there’s a person in crypto so rich that they are simultaneously paying off cobie, naval, balaji, me, tim ferris, hayes, gainzy, path, ansem, the winklevoss twins, toly and more (all of whom require just one final OTC KOL deal to finally make it) either that or I’m retarded — mert | helius.dev (@0xMert_) November 16, 2025 In a follow-up, he argued the real story is investor psychology, writing that “people would rather believe the above than admit that they sidelined themselves due to poor thinking and emotion.” Why Is Zcash Surging Now? Mert then laid out why, in his view, Zcash is rallying now: a more favorable political window for privacy coins in the US, issuance reduction, NEAR Intents that turn ZEC into a “shielded swiss vault” for one-click cross-chain payments, the default-shielding Zashi wallet with “100x better UX,” the 100x-scaling ambitions of Project Tachyon. Related Reading: Winklevoss Twins Back Zcash (ZEC) Treasury Company With $58M Investment On the long list of arguments he added the disillusionment with an increasingly institutional Bitcoin, Europe’s tightening surveillance regime, maturing zero-knowledge tech, fatigue with supply-controlled coins that were “dumped” on retail, and the broader “debasement trade” pushing investors toward alternative stores of value. He closed: “you combine all of the above with a little spark and the fire spreads fast. There is no conspiracy, just think. This is not a trade.” Skeptics see the same facts very differently. One user complained that Jordan Fish [@Cobie), a prominent UK-based crypto investor and trader, had become a “paid zcash shill,” and asked whether “all the big KOLs just randomly decided to just start shilling Zcash.” Cobie replied that his interest was not new at all: “Just started? I have been doing this almost 10 years (painfully),” resurfacing a 2017 tweet about buying ZEC if the price ever hit $0.3. When his critic apologized, Cobie turned to fundamentals: “Zcash has a lot of recent developments actually IMO. (1) One of the coolest things I have seen: Project Tachyon. (2) They fixed the brutal inflation that killed us. (3) Zcash + NEAR intents for permissionless cross-chain swaps seems to actually be working.” Zcash has a lot of recent developments actually IMO. (1) One of the coolest things I have seen: https://t.co/3wXNpugkna (2) They fixed the brutal inflation that killed us (3) Zcash + NEAR intents for permissionless cross-chain swaps seems to actually be working:… pic.twitter.com/JgVFh9Xg3T — Cobie (@cobie) November 16, 2025 Those developments are verifiable. Zcash’s engineering roadmap has advanced from experimental cryptography to production-grade systems. Project Tachyon, outlined by Zcash researcher Sean Bowe, proposes “oblivious synchronization,” a way for wallets to sync shielded notes without leaking metadata, drastically lowering latency and making large-scale shielded usage practical. Related Reading: Arthur Hayes Outlines Why Zcash Could Surge To $10,000–$20,000 Fast On the user side, the Zashi wallet has become the flagship interface, abstracting away complex shielding flows and steering users into private, shielded transactions by default. Research from Galaxy and other analysts notes that shielded supply has climbed from low single-digit percentages a few years ago to roughly a quarter of all circulating ZEC, with estimates around 30% of supply now parked in the shielded pool. Influencer activity undeniably amplifies this. Naval Ravikant’s October post, “Bitcoin is insurance against fiat. ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin,” was widely cited as an immediate catalyst for a sharp doubling in ZEC’s price and cemented the “privacy insurance” meme. The Zcash debate ultimately sits at the intersection of reflexive markets and real progress. Genuine upgrades in issuance, UX and scalability, plus a harsher global climate for financial privacy, have created a strong fundamental backdrop. Vocal advocates with large audiences have compressed years of re-rating into weeks, leaving sidelined traders searching for explanations. Whether one calls that paid promotion, organic momentum or a feedback loop of both, the current cycle shows how quickly a once-written-off privacy coin can become crypto’s latest battleground. At press time, ZEC traded at $682. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Following the recent comeback of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, Cypherpunk Technologies has launched a $50 million Zcash (ZEC) treasury strategy backed by Winklevoss Capital. Related Reading: SUI Eyes Key Retest As Price Breaks Out Of Downtrend – Rally To $3 Ahead? Cypherpunk Technologies Launches Zcash DAT On Wednesday, Leap Therapeutics announced the official launch of its Zcash Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) strategy and rebrand to Cypherpunk Technologies. The biotech company previously revealed that it had closed a $58.88 million private placement in October, led by Winklevoss Capital, as part of its plan to expand to the digital assets sector. The company currently holds 1.25% of the current ZEC supply after acquiring 203,775 ZEC at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $50 million, or $245.37 per token. Cypherpunk Technologies will reportedly continue to accumulate Zcash to own at least 5% of the total ZEC supply. The Company believes that privacy-protecting assets and related technologies will be critical in an increasingly digital world. The Company intends to acquire and hold ZEC, the native coin of Zcash, as its primary digital asset and to be an active participant in the Zcash community. Douglas E. Onsi, President and CEO of Cypherpunk Technologies, asserted that “This past month has been transformative for the Company, marked by closing a $58.88 million private placement led by Winklevoss Capital and successfully deploying $50 million to build a digital asset treasury designed to create long-term shareholder value focused on active participation in the development of Zcash and acquiring ZEC.” Per the announcement, the company will begin trading on Nasdaq under the new CYPH ticker on Thursday, November 13. Meanwhile, its ongoing cancer research and development operations will continue under a subsidiary that will take the Leap Therapeutics name. Winklevoss Twins Back ‘Encrypted Bitcoin’ In an X post, Gemini’s co-founder, Tyler Winklevoss, explained the reasons behind Winklevoss Capital’s investment in Cypherpunk Technologies, emphasizing the importance of supporting privacy and self-sovereignty in the online era. “Privacy is the precondition for many of our freedoms. It’s the point at which government and corporate reach end and our individual freedoms and self-sovereignty begin. As our lives have moved online, privacy’s become a rare, vanishing commodity,” the post reads. Winklevoss highlighted Zcash’s “highly symbiotic relationship” with Bitcoin since its launch nine years ago, affirming that, “If bitcoin is digital gold, Zcash is encrypted bitcoin, or digital cash.” One is your store of value, the other is how you privately move your value. We’ve been tracking this symbiosis for years and believe that now — as we enter the age of AI — is the right time to begin accumulating ZEC. Gemini’s co-founder also argued that Zcash could capture “a meaningful percentage” of BTC’s market capitalization, which he has predicted will surge to $1 million per BTC over the next 5-10years. Therefore, he believes that “Zcash will appreciate significantly from here as well.” Related Reading: Ethereum (ETH) Reclaims $3,500 Amid Market Rebound, Analysts Forecast December Take-Off It’s worth noting that Zcash has recorded a parabolic rally since September, surging 1,775% to its all-time high (ATH) of $750 last Friday. Since then, the cryptocurrency has followed the market’s correction, dropping over 40% to the $420 area before recovering. As of this writing, Zcash is trading at $507, a 15% increase in the daily timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Winklevoss cast Zcash as a "privacy hedge" to bitcoin, part of a comeback narrative for privacy coins in 2025.
The increase in shielding coincides with significant price appreciation as ZEC surged from approximately $400 on Nov. 1 to as high as $750.
ZEC has entered a sharp correction phase after a 1,500% rally that pushed the Zcash price to a seven-year high of nearly $744. The coin, which became the top-performing privacy asset in 2025, is now down over 25% from its all-time high as traders question whether its parabolic uptrend has finally peaked. Related Reading: Is The Dogecoin Bottom In? Analyst Explains What Matters Now According to data from TradingView, ZEC began its meteoric rise in early September, breaking through long-term resistance levels at $400. However, analysts now warn that the asset may have reached its cyclical top. Popular trader Altcoin Sherpa cautioned that such steep, prolonged rallies often “end with a sharp and painful collapse.” Similarly, technical indicators show ZEC’s RSI recently hit 94.2, an extreme overbought reading last seen during its 2017–2018 boom. ZEC's price records sharp losses on the daily chart. Source: ZECUSD on Tradingview Analysts Warn of Deep Pullback Toward $300–$400 Range Multiple market observers expect a deeper correction in the weeks ahead. Trader Greeny noted that Zcash’s current rally is “the longest in its history” and could mirror previous cycles that ended with 45%–90% drawdowns. On the daily chart, ZEC appears trapped within a corrective channel, suggesting further downside unless strong support emerges around the $400 zone. Still, not all analysts are bearish. Technical analyst Valdrin Tahiri emphasized that ZEC’s MACD and RSI indicators, although overbought, exhibit no bearish divergence, suggesting that the pullback may be a temporary correction rather than the beginning of a prolonged downtrend. If bulls manage to defend the $400 level, the coin could stabilize before resuming its broader bullish structure. Arthur Hayes Sees Long-Term Upside Amid Fiscal Expansion Adding intrigue to the ongoing correction, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes recently reaffirmed his bullish stance on Zcash, predicting that both BTC and ZEC could benefit from renewed U.S. fiscal stimulus. Hayes argues that as government liquidity increases, privacy coins like Zcash stand to gain as investors seek decentralized and censorship-resistant assets. Related Reading: Dogecoin Does Not Have Potential For A Strong Move Upward, Analyst Says While short-term volatility dominates the charts, long-term holders remain confident. Zcash’s advanced zk-SNARKs technology continues to position it as a key player in privacy innovation, and if fiscal easing drives another liquidity wave, ZEC could yet stage a remarkable comeback. Cover image from ChatGPT, ZECUSD chart from Tradingview
Following an impressive parabolic rally, ZCash (ZEC) has experienced a strong price correction in the last 24 hours, marked by a price loss of 14.54%. As the darkhouse tries to find price stability, renowned market analyst Ali Martinez has postulated on a potential market peak and the following implications. Related Reading: ZCash (ZEC) Euphoria Is Finally Here — Time To Cash In? $325 Or $125 – How Low Can ZCash Go? In no equivocal terms, ZCash has been one of the best performers of the present crypto market cycle, boasting a price gain of 1136.45% in the last year. Notably, the altcoin and surprise show-stealer has moved from below $40 in April 2025 to a peak value of $750 this November. This price surge has been strongly driven by heightened interest in privacy coins amid concerns over financial surveillance. However, after climbing above $700, ZCash has witnessed strong selling activity, leading to a price crash of over 10% and a price point as low as $500. In a recent video analysis, Martinez outlined the reason behind this decline while also predicting potential support levels in the event of a sustained downtrend. According to Martinez, ZCash’s sojourn above $700 allowed the token to encounter major resistance around $750, which strongly opposed price movement upon last contact in 2018. Based on the historical trend, ZCash bulls would need to significantly intensify buying pressure to move past this barrier. However, if the $750 resistance zone holds strong, Martinez tips investors to expect a sustained price correction to around $325, indicating a potential 43% decline from the present price level. In the presence of crushing selling pressure, the analyst also notes potential for a continuous decline to around $125, which presently is the midpoint level of the parallel price range between $23.5 and $750. Nevertheless, ZCash could still maintain its present bullish structure and surge to higher levels, considering other factors, one of which is the standing expectation of an altseason as several analysts continue to back the viability of the present crypto bull run. Moreover, ZCash presents an all-time high at $5,941, indicating plenty of room for price improvement. Related Reading: Bitcoin May Launch Recovery To $120,000 If This Condition Holds – Details ZCash Becomes Hayes’ Family Office Second-Largest Holding In other news, the co-founder of BitMEX and a key crypto figure has revealed his family office, Maelstrom, presently holds ZCash as its second-largest investment after Bitcoin. Hayes explained that this change in status is due to rapid price growth over the last year. However, such development only reinforces the high enthusiasm around the privacy narrative and strengthens the bullish potential of ZCash. At press time, the ZCash trades at $572, reporting a 165.7% gain in the last month. Featured image from InvestX, chart from Tradingview