Zcash Explodes 700% Since September – What’s Driving The Rally Amid The Bear Market?

The price of Zcash is recording one of the most astonishing rallies in the crypto market despite the ongoing bearish conditions. Over the past few weeks, we have seen a resurgence in the privacy narrative. Zcash (ZEC), one of the oldest and best-known privacy coins, is up by about 700% since September. 

The pump in recent days is notable, as it comes at a time when the entire crypto industry is being dragged down due to Bitcoin’s decline towards $100,000. It raises the question of how Zcash is managing this performance, and there are different theories on social media as to why this is happening.

Zcash (ZEC) has risen over 700% since September 2025, reaching as high as $728 on November 7, according to data from CoinGecko. This rally comes ahead of its mid-November halving, which will halve block rewards to 0.78125 ZEC, tightening supply like Bitcoin’s events.

According to a recent report analysis by Galaxy Digital, Zcash’s extraordinary rally can also be attributed to a revived interest in privacy within the crypto space. The report noted that although Zcash’s underlying fundamentals have not drastically changed, perceptions of its zero-knowledge proof system have. 

More than 30% of the coin’s total supply is now locked within shielded pools, representing an all-time high for private usage on the network. This rally means that some users are increasingly seeking privacy-centric solutions as mainstream networks grow more transparent and subject to surveillance. 

Another factor contributing to Zcash’s rise is the recent tech upgrades to its network. The introduction of the new Zashi wallet, which makes private transactions far more user-friendly, has expanded Zcash’s accessibility to a wider audience. 

Prominent voices like Naval Ravikant and Arthur Hayes have championed Zcash’s role in the evolving privacy revolution, calling it “the missing piece for Bitcoin.” According to the BitMEX co-founder, Zcash has the potential to quickly achieve 10% to 20% of the value of Bitcoin, which would place its price between $10,000 and $20,000. Interestingly, Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom fund now holds ZEC as its second-largest liquid asset.

Despite the euphoria, some analysts caution that Zcash’s dramatic rally may not be entirely rooted in long-term fundamentals. Economist Lyn Alden described the surge as a coordinated token pump, warning investors not to become exit liquidity.

A crypto commentator known as Bit Paine on X suggested that the current Zcash rally may be a coordinated pump-and-dump, arguing that manipulators likely targeted the coin because privacy tokens had their big moment in 2017, meaning many new investors may be unaware of the pattern, and privacy-focused assets like Zcash make it easier for bad actors to conceal their activities from regulators.

There is also looming regulatory pressure over privacy coins, especially after the European Parliament’s vote to restrict listings of tokens like Zcash and Monero on regional exchanges beginning in 2027.

At the time of writing, Zcash is trading at $580.67, having retraced from its intraday high of $734.96.

Featured image from Vecteezy, chart from TradingView