Zcash

The Zcash Foundation has announced the release of Zebra 7.0.0-rc.0, the first release candidate for NU7, the next Zcash network upgrade. The release marks the start of the candidate phase for the upcoming network upgrade, with two key dates in October ahead. Zebra 7.0.0-rc.0 is the initial release candidate tied to NU7, positioning the foundation's Zebra implementation ahead of the upgrade. Further details on the October dates were not specified in the announcement.

Cross-chain protocol THORChain has activated a liquidity pool for Zcash, bringing direct Bitcoin to Zcash swaps live. All network validators successfully synced with the Zcash blockchain following a scheduled network churn. The move opens a direct trading route between Bitcoin and Zcash through THORChain's cross-chain infrastructure.

Grayscale's Zcash exchange-traded fund is undergoing a 3-for-1 share split less than a month after it began trading. At market close on Sept. 28, shareholders of the Zcash ETF, which trades on the NYSE under the ticker ZCSH, will receive two additional shares for every one they already own, according to a regulatory filing. New shares will be distributed after the market closes on Sept. 29, and split-adjusted trading will occur on Sept. 30. The split follows more than $233 million U.S. of investor capital flowing into the Zcash ETF since its launch on Aug. 25 of this year. The fund currently holds $890 million U.S. in net assets and has generated more than $11 billion U.S. in cumulative trading volumes, while the Zcash ZEC token trades at an all-time high of $1,521 U.S. and has tripled, up 200%, so far in 2026.

A trader with an 89% win rate closed a Zcash short at a $10.68 million loss this week after the token climbed 177.8% in a month. Lookonchain flagged the closed trade before the exit, citing 26 consecutive wins and an 89% rate across 47 trades, a record that had produced more than $9 million in profit; the short covered 12,285 ZEC and was worth $18.31 million earlier, with liquidation set at $1,550.66, and Hyperliquid data shows the account now holds no positions at all. Garrett Jin holds the largest short still open, covering 37,999 ZEC worth $59.37 million, built at an average price of $671.05, leaving an unrealized loss of $33.87 million, though his 1,333 BTC long is up $4.41 million and his liquidation price of $4,789.42 sits above the 2016 record of $3,191.93. Other addresses are also seeing sharp losses: one account is down $12.53 million on a 13,487 ZEC short opened at $644.39, and another shorted 8,425 ZEC at $330.91 with 10 times leverage and now sits $10.47 million underwater. The rally has made ZEC the strongest performer among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies, trading near $1,563 and ranking ninth by market value at $26.47 billion, with Zcash ETFs taking in $98.2 million in the week ending September 18, the largest inflow among 14 products, as assets rose 40.5% to $914.5 million, while open interest in ZEC perpetuals on Hyperliquid stands at 574,045 ZEC, worth roughly $885 million.

The cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) surged, rising to 9th place in the market cap rankings. According to CoinMarketCap on September 17, ZEC climbed nearly 20% over the past 24 hours, briefly reaching the $1,380 range, and its market cap expanded to around $23 billion, overtaking Hyperliquid (HYPE, market cap about $20 billion). On the previous day, the 16th, the U.S. Senate rejected a procedural vote to begin consideration of the Clarity Act, which would define the market structure for crypto assets, triggering a broad unwinding of bullish positions; according to CoinDesk, forced liquidations of futures exceeded $570 million in 24 hours, and while major coins such as Bitcoin and XRP all weakened, ZEC alone bucked the trend with a sharp gain. Behind the rise was a vote held by the Zcash community from late August through September 14, in which proposals including one to drastically shorten the time required to approve transactions, the block generation interval, from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, were approved by a large majority, and a plan to maintain Bitcoin-style halvings that progressively cut issuance in half also drew broad support. The vote used a mechanism that preserves anonymity, tallying votes without revealing to outsiders who voted with how much weight, and the results were finalized on the 14th, strengthening buying in ZEC. According to on-chain analysis firm Glassnode, the market cap of the privacy sector grew from $7.1 billion to $33.6 billion over the past year, and ZEC, at its center, posted a gain of 2,496% over the past year.

Zcash, a privacy-focused token, jumped as much as 23% over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies advanced overnight into Thursday morning Asia time, alongside a recovery in stock index futures, after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. ZEC traded near $1,369, while Bitcoin edged up less than 1% to around $76,258. Solana gained nearly 3% to just below $100. BNB and HYPE, the token of the Hyperliquid trading platform, rose more than 2%. Ether, XRP and Dogecoin gained between 1% and 2%. The ZEC surge coincided with comments from Matt Huang, co-founder of leading crypto investment firm Paradigm, who discussed ZEC's role as a privacy component complementing Bitcoin and disclosed that his firm holds ZEC, according to a post on the X platform. The broader crypto market recovery came after the Fed raised its policy rate by 0.25% to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Jeff Ko, chief analyst at ViaBTC, said in an email that Wednesday's rate hike was largely priced in and that the Fed appears to be signalling it does not currently foresee an aggressive tightening cycle, while the market seems relieved by the Fed's efforts to control inflation. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.7%, while Asian stocks gained 0.3% and the yield on 2-year US Treasury notes slipped 0.02% to 4.71% after hitting its highest level since 2024 in the previous session.

The Zcash community has voted overwhelmingly in favor of reducing block time to 25 seconds while keeping the Bitcoin-style halving mechanism. The decision marks a major overhaul of the Zcash network's underlying structure that will affect transaction confirmation speed and coin issuance over the long term. The change must still go through the network's technical and governance procedures before it takes effect.

Swiss crypto platform SwissBorg unexpectedly expanded its listings, adding support for Litecoin and Zcash. For the European market, where regulators have been steadily cracking down on privacy coins, the Zcash integration became the biggest surprise of the week. The move comes as a 2027 ban looms over the region.

Glassnode, an on-chain analytics firm, reported that in its index of the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap, categorized by sector, only privacy coins are trading above their October 2025 highs. As of September 6, 335 days after Bitcoin's peak, Bitcoin is down 36%, and the median top 200 coin is down 58%, while privacy coins are up 213% from their highs. Over the past 30 days, all ten sectors have risen, with privacy coins leading at a 90% gain. The total market cap of privacy coins has expanded from $7.1 billion a year ago to $33.6 billion, rivaling the market cap of Tron. The sector is led by Zcash, which has risen from 82nd to 7th in market cap ranking, accounting for 62% of the sector. According to CoinMarketCap, ZEC's market cap is approximately $19.5 billion, with a one-year gain of 2496%.

Grayscale launched the first U.S. spot Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca on August 25, 2026, under the ticker ZCSH, with Coinbase as custodian, and Zcash's price has since surged past $1,000, reaching a multi-year high of $1,249.28 on September 6. The fund, which holds about 387,000 ZEC initially worth $260 million, grew to $463.2 million in net assets by September 7, though that growth includes price gains of the underlying coin. ZEC's rally actually began before the ETF listing, with a 65% rise in the week prior, and the fund's sustained inflows after launch hype fades will be the real test of institutional demand for privacy coins. Zcash's market cap reached $20.23 billion, ranking it the ninth-largest cryptocurrency, and the fund charges a 2.5% annual fee, roughly ten times that of a Bitcoin ETF. The ETF provides price exposure without the shielded privacy features, and regulatory tolerance remains a key risk for the asset class.

Altcoin perpetual futures open interest surpassed Bitcoin's on September 6, marking the first such crossover since December 2024, with altcoin open interest reaching roughly $40 billion versus Bitcoin's $23.9 billion. Zcash led the surge, with its open interest hitting a record $2.4 billion as the token's price jumped 134% in 30 days, briefly touching $1,023 on September 4. Solana, XRP, and Ethereum also contributed, each outperforming Bitcoin's 24% monthly gain, though they remain more than 40% below year-ago levels. Spot demand appears to be supporting the move, as altcoin market capitalization outside the top 10 has climbed above $200 billion, up over 10% since September. However, the last time this crossover occurred in December 2024, several mid-cap altcoins corrected sharply within weeks, and heavy leverage in Zcash poses a risk of forced liquidations if prices reverse.

Privacy token Zcash (ZEC) faces a 562% liquidation imbalance after a sharp rally forced traders betting against the token out of leveraged positions. The imbalance indicates that short sellers are being squeezed, with liquidations heavily skewed toward those who had bet on price declines. This development highlights the volatility and risk in the cryptocurrency market, particularly for privacy-focused assets.

Zcash has surged 2,361% over the past year to close above $1,000 for the first time on September 4, while XRP has fallen 50% in the same period, trading at $1.41. Zcash's rally was fueled by the launch of Grayscale's spot Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca on August 25, which grew from $304 million to $414.7 million in assets by September 4, and by the SEC closing its two-year investigation into the Zcash Foundation in January 2026 without action. In contrast, XRP has faced a falling market despite being classified as a digital commodity by the SEC and CFTC in March 2026 and having U.S. spot ETFs since November 2025, which have taken in $1.66 billion. Bitcoin also declined 28% over the year to $79,657, pressured by rising Treasury yields. Zcash's ability to hold above $1,000 may depend on continued ETF inflows, with a daily close below $850 signaling a potential pullback.

Major crypto exchange Coinbase has added support for two new wrapped assets: Zcash (ZEC) and Hyperliquid (HYPE). The exchange now allows users to trade and custody these wrapped tokens, which represent the underlying assets on other blockchains. This move expands Coinbase's offerings amid growing interest in wrapped assets and decentralized finance. No further details were provided regarding the specific trading pairs or availability regions.

Grayscale has launched the Grayscale Zcash ETF, the first-ever exchange-traded fund dedicated to the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash, converting a previously existing trust into the ETF wrapper with $260 million in assets under management, which has since grown to $313 million as of August 28. Zcash is the 11th-largest cryptocurrency by market value, and this debut marks the first ETF to focus on a privacy-dedicated token. The launch comes amid growing demand for privacy in financial transactions, especially in the age of artificial intelligence, and could attract institutional investors seeking exposure to digital assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. The ETF's inflows could reduce Zcash's available supply, potentially boosting its price, similar to the effect seen with spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The cryptocurrency market is watching the US Senate vote on the Clarity Act on September 15, which analysts at Altcoin Daily expect to be the biggest bipartisan crypto law. If passed, it would benefit projects linked to Wall Street and financial institutions. Seven coins to watch include Ethereum, whose ETF funds saw net inflows of $179.8 million, including $146.44 million from BlackRock; Solana, which processed 4.2 billion transactions in July, up 13.5%, and its price rose 40% in 8 days; Chainlink, whose Spot LINK ETF saw inflows of $18.27 million in August, holding 2.05% of supply; Zcash, which received CFTC approval for spot contracts; Hyperliquid, with August trading volume over $114 billion and monthly fees of $50 million; XRP, whose Spot XRP ETF saw inflows of $23.87 million on August 25; and Ondo, whose weekly active addresses rose to 22,000 from 5,000–6,000, with open interest surpassing $100 million.

Grayscale, a major US asset manager, published a report on the 26th analyzing the Treasury's expanded buyback of US government bonds, arguing that the buybacks only address the symptom of rising interest rates and do not resolve the root cause of structural fiscal deficits. On the 19th, the Treasury announced it would double the size of long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation from $2 billion, and on the same day, US public debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time. Grayscale analyzed that with private capital demand expanding amid AI-related investment, the simultaneous increase in funding needs from both the government and private sector is pushing up interest rates. It stated that the unchecked growth of government debt undermines confidence in fiat currencies, prompting investors to seek alternative stores of value with issuance caps, such as gold and certain cryptocurrencies, and named Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Zcash as beneficiaries. However, the increased amount applies to auctions from September 9 to November 4, with the additional size over regular refinancing plans being only about $14 billion, and some market participants view the impact as limited. Additionally, since Grayscale listed the Zcash Trust as a spot ETF, ZCSH, on the 25th, some suggest the report may be aimed at supporting its own product, while others note that gold's longer track record does not automatically give cryptocurrencies an advantage.

Grayscale officially began trading its Zcash ETF under the ticker ZCSH on the NYSE Arca exchange on Tuesday, becoming the world's first exchange-traded product (ETP) to provide direct exposure to Zcash (ZEC), a cryptocurrency focused on transaction privacy, amid a sharp rise in ZEC's price over the past few days, according to The Block. ZCSH is a conversion of the Grayscale Zcash Trust, which was first launched as a private placement in October 2017. As of Monday, the trust had over $313.5 million in assets under management (AUM). The new ETF charges a fee of 2.5%, and a Grayscale spokesperson said the fee revenue will be used to support and promote the development of the Zcash network. Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's head of index, commented on the timing of the product launch, linking the demand for financial privacy to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI). Over the past few days, Zcash's value has surged about 45%, according to The Block's price data, following our previous report that ZEC broke through the $800 level for the first time in eight years, surpassing its previous high from 2018, boosted by the news of the Grayscale ETF. Prior to the launch, Grayscale had just filed its fifth amendment before the weekend, and the previous amendment also revealed that a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale's parent company, was considering purchasing about 200,000 ZEC through the trust. Grayscale made clear that ZCSH is an ETP that is not registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940 (the '40 Act), and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as ETFs or mutual funds registered under that law. Investing in ZCSH carries high risk and extreme volatility, and is not suitable for investors who cannot bear the risk of losing their entire investment. Investing in this fund is not a direct investment in ZEC.

On August 26, 2026, there were several notable developments in the crypto space. The Cabinet approved four capital market laws as part of its digital asset regulatory plan. Meanwhile, Grayscale launched an ETF tracking Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. Additionally, token stocks and stablecoins are drawing investor attention. This summary highlights key movements related to Bitcoin and other digital assets on that day.

Altcoins have come back to life, with total market value rising by about 215 billion dollars between August 19 and 22, pushing Total2, the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin, back above 1 trillion dollars. On Binance, 56 percent of altcoins are trading above their 200-day moving average, a reversal from the prior period when 80 to 85 percent of tokens were below that level. Zcash jumped 71.3 percent over the week to near 832 dollars, leading all top 50 assets, while XRP gained 48.7 percent to near 1.47 dollars and Hyperliquid added 38.4 percent to near 80 dollars. Pump.fun rose 81 percent over the week after announcing zero trading fees for tokens on Solana. Even Bitcoin and Ethereum gained more than 20 percent over the week, with Bitcoin trading near 77,000 dollars and Ethereum near 2,437 dollars.

Zcash has surged past $814 for the first time in eight years, fully recovering from its June drop to $250 caused by a vulnerability in the Orchard pool. The privacy coin's market capitalization climbed to $13.74 billion, driven by the upcoming listing of the first spot Zcash fund, the Zcash ETF. The rally has sparked community discussion about whether Zcash could eventually flip XRP by market capitalization.

US crypto asset manager Grayscale filed its fifth amended registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 21, as it works toward a spot ETF for the crypto asset Zcash. If approved, it would become the first ETF in the United States to directly hold Zcash. Zcash is known for privacy features that can keep transaction information confidential, and it enables shielded transactions using zero-knowledge proof technology known as zk-SNARKs. Grayscale currently operates the Grayscale Zcash Trust, an investment product that holds Zcash, and aims to convert that product into an ETF listed on NYSE Arca. Following these developments, the price of Zcash rose 44.8 percent in 24 hours, briefly climbing to 848.65 dollars.

US-based Cipherpunk Technologies has brought online the world's largest Zcash mining fleet, deploying a total hashrate of 4.2 gigasols per second across facilities in the United States. The company acquired the mining equipment through a stock-based transaction with Winklevoss Capital valued at 33.33 million dollars. Cipherpunk said the mining operation will strengthen its strategy of holding and accumulating ZEC as a treasury asset, while generating funds for additional ZEC acquisitions and investments in privacy technology.

DCG-controlled mining platform Fortitude has officially confirmed the acquisition of a new 12.5 MW data center in Prosser, Nebraska. The announcement was shared by Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, highlighting a major infrastructure milestone for Zcash mining within his portfolio.

Zcash is set to activate its Ironwood network upgrade at block height 3,428,143 on July 28. The crypto community is counting down to the event, which will introduce security improvements to the privacy-focused blockchain.

The privacy coin market outperformed the broader crypto market after Chinese prosecutors proposed in a research paper that the use of crypto mixers and privacy coins should be treated as circumstances giving rise to a presumption of money laundering intent. The total market cap of the privacy coin sector rose 7% to 16.1 billion dollars, with Zcash up 10.5% and Monero up 2.5%. The paper, published on the official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, recommends measures such as mandating the preparation of fund flow analysis reports during investigations and introducing evidentiary rules that treat mixer usage as a circumstance giving rise to a presumption of intent, in order to close the law enforcement gaps created by blockchain anonymity.

Zcash has recorded one of the largest volume expansions among major digital assets, with trading activity rising by more than 28 percent over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to dominate headlines.

Zcash rose 10 percent. The development team fixed a vulnerability in Orchard that could lead to counterfeiting, and announced progress toward introducing a new shielded pool called Ironwood to restore verifiability of the supply. The circulating supply of ZEC is about 16.76 million coins, reaching roughly 79.8 percent of the maximum supply of 21 million. Trading volume increased about 40 percent to 600 million dollars. Meanwhile, prediction markets remain cautious about the possibility of another rally toward 700 dollars.

Europe has reportedly mandated identity verification for every Bitcoin transaction, a development that is drawing attention to privacy coins such as Zcash. Some recent reports claim that the ID verification requirement is part of broader regulatory efforts, though details remain unclear. The move has sparked discussion about the future of transactional privacy and the potential shift toward cryptocurrencies designed to obscure sender and receiver identities.