Zcash hits highest price since 2016 as market cap tops $20B
Zcash (ZEC) surged to its highest level since 2016, briefly reaching $1,249.28 before easing to around $1,195. The move pushed its market value above $20 billion, with gains of about 45% over the past week and 138% over the past month. Despite the rally, ZEC remains below its 2016 launch-era all-time high, when supply was much smaller. The cryptocurrency’s appeal comes from its privacy features: users can choose shielded transactions that use zero-knowledge proofs to hide the sender, recipient, and amount. Grayscale research has argued that privacy may become more important as AI makes it easier to connect public blockchain activity to real identities. Momentum accelerated after Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into an ETF, ZCSH, which began trading on NYSE Arca and gives brokerage-account investors exposure to ZEC. The fund had $463.2 million in assets.
