In summary
- Zcash is up more than 140% in two weeks, reaching its highest level since 2021.
- Nearly $2 million in short positions were liquidated as the token rose to $170.
- Analysts cite access to Grayscale and support from Naval Ravikant as key factors.
The Zcash privacy blockchain token has tripled in value in less than two weeks, hitting its highest price in more than three years amid a broader crypto rally that has favored some assets more than others.
Zcash is posting double-digit gains, surging 26% in the last 24 hours to $170, according to data from CoinGecko, after rising more than 140% in just under 14 days. As a result, nearly $2 million in short positions have been liquidated, CoinGlass data shows.
The rally stems from a combination of new institutional access and influential support from social media, experts said. Decipher.
“The recent price surge can largely be attributed to Grayscale recently allowing eligible investors to gain exposure through its funds, along with prominent voices like investor Naval Ravikant expressing support,” said Sean Dawson, head of research at on-chain options platform Dervie. Decipher.
The analyst’s comments align with sentiment data from cryptocurrency research platform Messari, which shows a 1000% increase in Zcash participation in recent weeks.
The token has garnered mentions on social media from prominent crypto personalities, including Ravikant, an American venture capitalist, and Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure company Helius Labs, which accelerated its breakthrough after a quiet three-year sideways trend. Decipher previously reported.
Zcash is a privacy-focused crypto that allows users to send and receive transactions privately using zero-knowledge proofs to encrypt transaction information.
Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Zcash supports fully private transactions through its shielded addresses, which can hide sender, recipient, and amount information on the chain.
“Bitcoin is insurance against fiat money. ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin,” Ravikant wrote, talking about the privacy nature of Zcash in a tweet on October 1st.
Dawson added that in the context of Bitcoin’s own rise, “investors are looking for outsized returns in related projects; a ZK version of Bitcoin is attractive.”
Some major altcoins have fared better than others this year, with tokens like Chainlink, Cardano, Sui, and Dogecoin posting returns ranging from single-digit gains to double-digit losses.
Finding individual “pockets of strength” with altcoins like Zcash is not uncommon despite the largely institutionally driven capital flows of the current cycle, said Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research. Decipher On Wednesday.
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