Zcash Soars 45% Amid Crypto Downturn, Tops Privacy Coins

While the broader cryptocurrency market continued its consolidation phase, Zcash (ZEC) delivered a stunning performance that captured investor attention. According to data aggregator CoinMarketCap, ZEC surged to $388 on Friday, marking its highest price point in over eight years. The cryptocurrency registered a 7.6% gain in the final 24 hours of the trading week, capping off a remarkable 45% weekly increase that stood in stark contrast to the general market weakness.

This extraordinary rally occurred against a backdrop of disappointing macroeconomic developments, particularly the failure of anticipated tariff negotiations between the United States and China to materialize on Thursday. While most digital assets struggled amid this uncertainty, Zcash demonstrated remarkable resilience, suggesting that privacy-focused cryptocurrencies may be developing their own market dynamics separate from broader crypto trends.

The timing and magnitude of ZEC’s surge indicate that privacy coins are attracting significant capital flows even during periods of market uncertainty. This performance challenges the conventional wisdom that all cryptocurrencies move in lockstep with Bitcoin and other major digital assets, highlighting the growing sophistication of crypto investors who are increasingly making targeted bets on specific cryptocurrency niches.

Zcash’s impressive rally propelled it past longtime rival Monero (XMR) to claim the title of most valuable privacy-focused cryptocurrency. With a market capitalization reaching $6.2 billion at the time of writing, ZEC successfully flipped XMR, marking a significant shift in the privacy coin hierarchy. This milestone represents more than just a temporary price fluctuation—it signals a potential changing of the guard in the competitive privacy cryptocurrency space.

The competition between Zcash and Monero has been a defining feature of the privacy coin sector for years, with each offering distinct technological approaches to transaction anonymity. Zcash’s zero-knowledge proof technology, which allows users to shield transaction details while maintaining blockchain transparency, appears to be gaining favor among investors seeking both privacy and regulatory compliance potential. This technological differentiation may be contributing to ZEC’s recent outperformance relative to its privacy-focused peers.

The market cap flip demonstrates that investor preferences within the privacy coin category are evolving. While Monero has traditionally maintained stronger brand recognition in certain circles, Zcash’s recent performance suggests that market dynamics are shifting. The $6.2 billion valuation establishes ZEC as not just the leading privacy cryptocurrency but also as a significant player in the broader digital asset ecosystem.

The Zcash rally received significant momentum from prominent cryptocurrency figure Hayes’ call for a $10,000 price target. This ambitious prediction, coming from an influential voice in the crypto space, appears to have catalyzed investor interest and buying pressure. The timing of Hayes’ endorsement coincided perfectly with ZEC’s breakout, suggesting that credible price targets from respected figures can still move markets significantly in the cryptocurrency space.

The $10,000 projection represents a substantial multiple from current price levels and implies tremendous confidence in Zcash’s long-term prospects. Such bold predictions typically attract both speculative interest and genuine belief in the underlying technology’s potential. In this case, the combination of strong fundamental performance and influential backing created a powerful narrative that drove ZEC’s exceptional weekly gains despite unfavorable market conditions.

The broader implication of this rally extends beyond Zcash itself. The fact that a privacy-focused cryptocurrency can generate such momentum during a market downturn suggests growing institutional and retail recognition of the value proposition offered by anonymous transactions. As regulatory scrutiny increases across the cryptocurrency landscape, the demand for privacy-preserving technologies may continue to grow, potentially benefiting the entire privacy coin category in the long term.