While much of the crypto market remains in a slump, privacy-focused tokens are gaining momentum — and Zcash is leading the rally.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows Zcash (ZEC) surged to a high of $655 early Friday, pushing its market capitalization to roughly $10.6 billion. As of writing, the price has eased to $632, valuing the token at about $10.3 billion and ranking it as the 12th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Over the past 24 hours, ZEC has jumped nearly 23%, and it’s up more than 63% over the past week, according to CoinMarketCap.
The rally marks a strong breakout for the long-overlooked privacy coin, cementing Zcash as a frontrunner in what many are calling 2025’s “privacy revival” — a movement reigniting interest in surveillance-resistant digital assets and the broader push for financial privacy and autonomy.
While Bitcoin and Ether continue to trade sideways, investor attention has shifted toward privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, with Zcash (ZEC) emerging as the standout performer.
According to CoinMarketCap, several leading privacy tokens posted strong gains over the past week. Zcash led the rally, outperforming peers like Monero, Dash, Decred, and ZKsync.
- Dash surged more than 141% over the past week.
- ZKsync jumped 122%, while Decred climbed 96%.
- Monero (XMR) posted a more modest 12% gain, weighed down by liquidity challenges and exchange delistings amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
Why Zcash Is Outperforming
Zcash’s strength lies in its dual-mode architecture, which supports both transparent and shielded transactions. This hybrid design allows ZEC to function on regulated exchanges and within institutional custody frameworks, making it a more compliance-friendly privacy option.
As a result, Zcash has become the preferred choice for investors seeking privacy without running afoul of regulatory constraints.
Grassroots Support and Influencer Backing
Zcash’s surge has also been fueled by grassroots advocacy and endorsements from prominent industry figures such as Arthur Hayes, Naval Ravikant, Mert Mumtaz, and Threadguy. These voices have spent months championing privacy as crypto’s next major narrative, highlighting Zcash’s zero-knowledge proof technology as a cornerstone of decentralized value transfer in a tightening regulatory landscape.
In an interview on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction, Alex Bornstein, executive director of the Zcash Foundation, emphasized that neither the foundation nor Electric Coin Company paid influencers to promote ZEC. He described the movement as a spontaneous cultural shift, not a coordinated marketing effort.
Diverging Views
Not everyone shares the enthusiasm. Jan3 CEO and Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow cautioned Zcash investors on Thursday to “reconsider their positions,” comparing ZEC to Dogecoin and suggesting that holders convert their profits into Bitcoin instead.
Even with the mixed opinions, Zcash’s recent performance underscores a renewed investor appetite for privacy-centric assets, marking a potential turning point in the 2025 “privacy revival.”
