Halo

Frank

Arthur

Zcash

Narrative

<p>Zcash (ZEC) has seen a 1,400% increase so far this year. According to CoinMarketCap, as of writing, it was trading at $594.20, with $1.83 billion in reading volume over the past 24 hours. Over the past week, ZEC has risen 13%, and it gained 165% in the last month with its market currently valued at $3.07 trillion.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/privacy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">group</a> of privacy-centered cryptocurrencies, Zcash leads the pack. It is followed by Monero, trading at $405.84, while having a market capitalization of $7.49 billion. XMR increased by 3.18% in the last 24 hours and 6.98% over the week, having a daily trading volume of $224.14 million.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Litecoin (LTC) is not fully private, but often shows on watchlists for semi-private features. LTC trades at $94.14 with a market cap of $7.2 billion, down 8.98% in the past week. Others on the privacy list include Canton (CC) $0.1063 with a $3.74 billion market capitalization, and Dash (DASH) at $74.28—valued at $927.57 million.</p>
<p>Recent hype in ZEC shows that investors are increasingly interested in privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies, while concerns over surveillance and transparency of public blockchains grow.</p>
<p>“ZCash is showing excellent momentum, rebounding to its previous record level of $700 after falling to $440, while Bitcoin is struggling to hold the $95,000 level, and overall market sentiment remains in an extreme fear phase,” Ray Youssef, CEO of NoOnes, told The CryptoTimes. ‘In addition to its more than 1100% growth, this is yet another signal that zero-knowledge technology is becoming the defining narrative of the crypto market as the year comes to an end. If ZEC manages to break above $800 on strong volume, technical analysis clearly points to a four-digit target — first $1,010, and potentially $1,300.”&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="zcash-privacy-narrative-and-technical-features">Zcash privacy narrative and technical features</h2>
<p>Zcash offers transaction privacy through concealing the sender, receiver, and amounts involved in the transactions. It follows zero-knowledge proofs, actually zk-SNARKs, which confirm transactions without revealing private information.</p>
<p>The network supports two kinds of addresses: transparent and shielded. The transparent ones work just like Bitcoin’s ledger, visible on the blockchain, while the shielded addresses fully encrypt transactions. Recent upgrades, including Halo 2, removed the need for trusted setups and significantly improved security along with scalability.&nbsp;</p>
<p>ZEC has a capped supply of 21 million coins, with block rewards decreasing by half every four years. A portion of the mining rewards goes to community-governed development grants that combine decentralization with protocol sustainability.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“ZEC’s 222% returns over the last 30 days and 1100% year-to-date rally totally outweigh the performance of major assets like Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, which are still struggling to reclaim key support levels and preserve the remaining modest portion of their year-to-date gains,” said Maria Carola, CEO of StealthEx, adding, “This widening performance gap between the wider market and privacy coins indicates a shift in market leadership from large-cap assets towards strong, narrative-driven ones with strong thematic catalysts.”</p>
<p>Currently, over 30% of the total ZEC supply sits in shielded addresses. The Zashi Wallet update will allow users to convert assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum into shielded ZEC through NEAR cross-chain intents, connecting DeFi liquidity with Zcash’s privacy layer and reducing liquid supply.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“Zero-knowledge technology is becoming a priority for several leading blockchain networks, including Ethereum. Zero-knowledge proofs are re-emerging as a core infrastructure narrative in the industry, and ZCash, as an already established ZK-native asset, is directly benefiting from this capital deployment and rotation,” Maria added.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="influence-of-naval-ravikant-and-arthur-hayes">Influence of Naval Ravikant and Arthur Hayes</h2>
<p>Recently, popular figures created people’s interest in Zcash, influencing how people view it. AngelList’s Co-Founder Naval Ravikant compared ZEC’s role to Bitcoin’s position against fiat, calling it a privacy hedge. He emphasized the value of shielded transactions in protecting digital wealth from growing surveillance.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
   <p>Bitcoin is insurance against fiat.<br><br>ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin. <a href="https://t.co/rqMrR3bW7O" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/rqMrR3bW7O</a></p>— Naval (@naval) <a href="https://twitter.com/naval/status/1973254136394293708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">October 1, 2025</a>
  </blockquote>
 </div>
</figure>
<p>Arthur Hayes, the Co-Founder of BitMEX, also affected <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/11/17/arthur-hayes-dumps-5m-in-crypto-as-markets-hit-6-month-lows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ZEC’s market activity</a>. On November 17, he moved 1,480 ETH, around $4.7 million, to market makers. This led to speculation that he might be buying ZEC.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hayes has called Zcash “insurance against Bitcoin’s transparency” and has encouraged users to keep their coins shielded in self-custody. While such attention can spark interest among retail investors, ETH selling could create short-term market swings.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="bitcoin-vs-zcash-privacy-at-the-core">Bitcoin Vs. Zcash: Privacy at the core</h2>
<p>Zcash was built from Bitcoin’s open-source code but adds extra features to protect privacy. Unlike Bitcoin, where anyone can see all transactions, ZEC keeps transfers private using zk-SNARKs encryption.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Edward Snowden pointed out that Bitcoin’s lack of privacy is a major problem, saying that true digital cash needs the kind of anonymity cash provides.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
   <p>"The core flaw with Bitcoin, the largest likelihood for why Bitcoin would fail in the long term, is because it's not private." – <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@Snowden</a> <br><br>the solution to Bitcoin's privacy problem is Zcash<a href="https://t.co/YPJYn3EUQx" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/YPJYn3EUQx</a></p>— Zcash 🛡️ (@Zcash) <a href="https://twitter.com/Zcash/status/1973431538164654516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">October 1, 2025</a>
  </blockquote>
 </div>
</figure>
<p>Analysts argue Zcash embodies Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of private, peer-to-peer digital cash. Developer Thor Torrens <a href="https://x.com/ThorTorrens/status/1985111106793128438" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">claimed</a> that privacy must be integrated at the blockchain’s base layer. “It’s too late for bitcoin. Privacy has to be baked in at the L1,” he said. Torrens believes Zcash could replace Bitcoin as the dominant privacy-centric cryptocurrency.</p>
<p>Additionally, analyst Max Belfort stated, “ZCash isn’t a trade. Bitcoin gave us freedom. ZCash protects it.” The growing narrative suggests that privacy, not speculation, may drive ZEC’s adoption in the long term. However, Bitcoin remains the leading store-of-value asset, meaning Zcash still faces a steep challenge to claim mainstream dominance.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
   <p>I bought my first Bitcoin in 2013.<br><br>People laughed, they said it was just another bubble.<br><br>Now I hold over 2,000 BTC, and I’m moving part of it… into <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ZEC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ZEC</a>.<br><br>Not because I’m bearish on Bitcoin, but because I believe privacy is the next revolution.<br><br>ZCash isn’t a trade. It’s a… <a href="https://t.co/e0DQzsbGBE" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/e0DQzsbGBE</a></p>— Max Belfort (@belfort_max) <a href="https://twitter.com/belfort_max/status/1984237894567952486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">October 31, 2025</a>
  </blockquote>
 </div>
</figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="expert-opinions-and-market-skepticism">Expert opinions and market skepticism</h2>
<p>For sustainability in ZEC price, various experts have different say. Analyst Frank Braun highlights a long-term approach, noting that many early Bitcoin investors got rich simply by holding for years. He says, “Most OGs that I know who got rich with Bitcoin all did the same thing: They bought it and then they sat on it for YEARS… For Zcash it will be the same.” Braun also believes ZEC could reach 1–10% of Bitcoin’s market cap, potentially surpassing projects like Cardano and Ripple.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
   <p>Most OGs that I know who got rich with Bitcoin all did the same thing: They bought it and then they sat on it for YEARS.<br><br>They didn’t trade it and they didn’t try to time the market. They certainly didn’t leverage with perps. They just hodled spot in cold storage through all the…</p>— Frank Braun (@thefrankbraun) <a href="https://twitter.com/thefrankbraun/status/1987192765864677670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">November 8, 2025</a>
  </blockquote>
 </div>
</figure>
<p>On the other hand, MDB <a href="https://x.com/MDBitcoin/status/1990228442692858326?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">criticized</a> Zcash’s setup. He said, “ZCASH IS A SHITCOIN… The majority of the chain is transparent, and the small private set only makes real anonymity weaker.” MDB points out that Zcash’s founders’ rewards and marketing mainly benefit insiders, which hurts true decentralization and limits wider adoption.</p>
<p>Similarly, Crypto analyst&nbsp; XForceGlobal warned of potential price crashes following large rallies: “$ZCASH looks like it’s gonna do an epic crash in the near future… It always happens. Always.”</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
   <p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ZCASH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ZCASH</a> looks like it’s gonna do an epic crash in the near future. It will be a use case study in the future to why you shouldn’t buy into a mega pump. It always happens. Always.<br><br>This is why we choose coins early as possible that is distributing.</p>— XForceGlobal (@XForceGlobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/XForceGlobal/status/1990389413801513411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">November 17, 2025</a>
  </blockquote>
 </div>
</figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="zcash-s-position-in-the-crypto-landscape">Zcash’s position in the crypto landscape</h2>
<p>Zcash is up 1,400% YTD, which reflects both market excitement and growing interest in privacy solutions. Its strong technical foundation includes shielded transactions, zk-SNARKs, and upgrades such as Halo 2 and Zashi Wallet integration. In addition, endorsements from figures such as Naval Ravikant and Arthur Hayes amplify investor confidence.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“The crypto market backdrop makes ZCash’s outperformance even more striking,” Maria emphasized, “Bitcoin and major mainstream assets remain heavily correlated to macro uncertainty and have struggled to rally despite positive macro signals in recent days. Privacy coins, including ZCash, Dash, and Monero, seem to be operating with an entirely different playbook from the wider market. They are benefiting from the long-suppressed demand for privacy-preserving tools and prevalent policy legislation in this direction.”</p>
<p>However, skepticism remains. They point to the centralized incentives, limited shielded usage, and potential volatility. Bitcoin’s deeply entrenched dominance as “digital gold” adds another layer of complexity for ZEC’s adoption.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Zcash is a significant experiment in privacy-centric cryptocurrency. Whether it becomes a mainstream hedge against surveillance or a speculative market play remains to be seen. The next few months will likely reveal if its rally reflects genuine utility or a temporary price surge.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
 <p>Also Read: <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/11/14/beyond-the-hedge-bitcoin-finds-new-ground-in-latin-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Beyond the Hedge: Bitcoin Finds New Ground in Latin America</a></p>
</blockquote>

ZEC Rallies 1400% YTD: Is It Privacy Narrative or Just Manipulative Pump?

Table of Contents

The Crypto Times

Other articles published on Nov 18, 2025

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!