Zcash’s value has soared as traders turn to privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) has surged more than 70% in the past week as crypto traders pay more attention to privacy-focused projects.
Zcash traded at $346 on Friday, May 1, before hitting a seven-day high of $593.86 on Wednesday. As of Friday, it sits at $570, according to CoinGecko.
Pav Hundal, chief market analyst at crypto exchange Swyftx, told Cointelegraph that traders are starting to pay more attention to privacy projects “amid broader concerns about the impact of AI, quantum computing and financial surveillance on crypto.”
Tushar Jain, the founder of investment firm Multicoin Capital, said on Wednesday that he has “built a significant position” in ZEC since February.
Zcash is one of the more privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, followed by arch-rival Monero (XMR), and according to Jain, it's an attractive investment because “institutions are looking to private assets to protect themselves,” and it's a “political trend to seize private wealth.”
Several crypto companies have recently released new privacy features. Ethereum scaling solution Polygon launched private stablecoin payments on Sunday, Aptos Labs' privacy feature Secret APT, which hides token balances and transfer sizes, was released on the mainnet in April.
Market intelligence platform Sentiment said in a post on X on Wednesday that Zcash is “reviving strongly,” as fears of extinction and social media mentions of Zcash have risen along with its value.
Santiment pointed to the government's lack of confidence as a reason for the rise in interest rates by retailers.
Source: Santiment
“The public is increasingly looking to privacy-focused assets as a hedge against rising surveillance risks, tighter exchange regulations and AI-driven data monitoring on financial platforms,” Santiment said.
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“At the same time, traders with low market prices on many private coins will see them playing the high-upward momentum seen in this mild altcoin rally crypto saw in May,” he added.
Zcash's rally may be short-lived.
Privacy was an important investment theme for crypto in 2025, with privacy-focused tokens increasing last year.
Zcash nearly crossed $700 in November, its highest price since 2018, while another privacy coin, Monero, hit an all-time high of $797.73 in January.
However, neither held their gains, and Swiftx's Hundal said the recent rally may also be short-lived.
“Zcash's move has some signs of a narrative shift towards privacy coins,” Hundel said. “I'd call it a pure fundamental assessment. We need more time to see how sustainable investor interest is.”
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