- Over 4.42 million ZEC, or 27% of total supply, is now shielded and fully untraceable, marking a huge surge in Zcash’s privacy adoption.
- ZEC price soared 635% from August lows to $253, holding strong through recent market volatility while most cryptos crashed.
- Prediction markets on Polymarket now give Zcash a 67% chance of surpassing Monero’s market cap by the end of 2025.
Zcash is quietly having a monster year. The privacy coin’s shielded market capitalization just climbed past $1 billion, with over 4.42 million ZEC now locked away in total privacy. That’s roughly 27% of its entire supply, a milestone that’s sparking fresh excitement among privacy advocates and traders alike.
Over the last week alone, Zcash’s Orchard Pool—its most advanced privacy layer—received more than 600,000 ZEC deposits. The surge came even as the broader market remained shaky. But for Zcash, it’s been the opposite story: its community and whales are doubling down, treating shielded holdings like long-term crypto insurance.
Privacy Hype Returns as Zcash Gains Momentum
Search interest in “Zcash” has hit record highs again, thanks in part to major figures like Naval Ravikant, who recently called it “insurance against Bitcoin.” That sentiment seems to be catching on. The idea that one can hold truly untraceable crypto in an increasingly transparent financial world is driving both new adoption and renewed faith among early believers.
The Zcash protocol’s Orchard Pool uses advanced zero-knowledge proofs to anonymize transactions, making coins completely invisible once they’re shielded. According to data from zkp.baby, the total shielded value hit $1.12 billion as of October 13, 2025. What’s striking is how fast it’s growing — just weeks ago, shielded supply was 23%, and now it’s racing toward 30%.
ZEC Price Action: Calm in the Chaos
While the market melted down during October’s so-called “Dark Friday,” Zcash barely flinched. It’s up 635% from August lows, rallying from $34.47 to $253. Even after a sharp correction from its recent $298 local high, ZEC is still one of the year’s biggest comeback stories.
At its peak, the coin even showed a green candle on the day that marked the largest liquidation event in crypto history. Traders who bought near the $150 dip now sit on massive gains — and analysts say that if ZEC can break past the $300 psychological barrier, the next wave of upside could be wild.
Prediction Markets Are Betting on a Flippening
On prediction platform Polymarket, traders are now pricing a 67% chance that Zcash will surpass Monero’s market cap before the end of the year. With its faster tech, surging adoption, and growing community of privacy purists, ZEC’s momentum seems hard to ignore.
As Zcash advocate Sacha put it on X, “Long-term holders aren’t speculating — they’re quietly stacking.” And right now, it’s looking like those quiet accumulations might be setting up something big.
