For a coin that’s built its reputation on secrecy, Zcash is making a lot of noise lately. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency has quietly, and then suddenly, surged to a record market capitalization of over $5.6 billion, powered by a price rally of over 500% in roughly one month.
This is coming as Zcash is gearing up for its third halving event, happening in November, a milestone expected to further limit supply and possibly extend the rally.
Privacy coins are having a moment again
According to data from CoinGecko, Zcash’s market capitalization and trading volumes have soared to their highest levels ever, thanks to investor interest in privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies and Zcash’s similarity to Bitcoin.
Analysts suggest that ongoing debates about digital privacy, particularly in light of government pushes for centralized digital currencies, have reenergized interest in decentralized systems that protect user identities.
The cryptocurrency was one of the very few tokens that wasn’t affected by the market crash that occurred in early October.
A legacy built on cryptographic ideals
Zcash launched in 2016 as a fork of Bitcoin, developed by the Electric Coin Company (ECC) under the leadership of Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn. The project emerged from academic research at Johns Hopkins University, MIT, and Tel Aviv University, introducing the concept of “zero-knowledge proofs,” advanced cryptography that allows users to verify transactions without revealing personal or transactional data.
The idea was radical at the time, as it involved a digital currency that could prove a transaction had happened without revealing who was involved or how much was sent.
That research would eventually become Zcash, powered by the now-famous “zero-knowledge proofs,” complex cryptography that hides transaction details while maintaining transparency on the blockchain.
The 2016 “trusted setup” ceremony that created Zcash’s initial cryptographic parameters was carried out by a handful of experts scattered across the globe, and years later, it became public that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden participated anonymously under a pseudonym, a fitting twist for a project built on privacy.
Since then, Zcash has evolved through a series of major upgrades, and the next chapter arrives this November, when the network undergoes its third halving, cutting miner rewards and, once again, reducing the rate at which new ZEC enters circulation.
Zcash speculators face new scarcity levels
Halving events have always have always been moments of excitement in crypto, a built-in countdown to scarcity that tends to spark market activity.
Zcash follows the same logic as Bitcoin, as they have relatively similar code; both have a fixed supply of 21 million coins, and every four years, the miner rewards are cut in half. Come November, they’ll drop from 3.125 ZEC to 1.5625 ZEC per block.
Even as Zcash enjoys its moment, there’s a note of caution in the air. Regulatory pressure on privacy coins hasn’t eased everywhere. The US has taken a favorable position with crypto and doesn’t frown at privacy token organizations.
However, authorities in the European Union, South Korea, and elsewhere continue to flag them as potential vehicles for illicit finance. That scrutiny has led several exchanges to delist privacy-focused assets, including ZEC, over the past few years.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s established dominance as “digital gold” also continues to overshadow Zcash’s more niche value proposition.
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