'Insurance Against Bitcoin': Privacy Coin Zcash Surges 63%, Hitting 3-Year High

In brief

Privacy coin Zcash is rallying after hitting a three-year high.
A number of prominent observers in the crypto and Silicon Valley space have discussed the coin’s potential lately.
Zcash remains down by over 95% from its 2016 record.

Privacy coin Zcash has been the best performing digital asset over the past 24 hours after soaring to a three-year high on Wednesday after a number of prominent market observers emphasized its safety.

The price of Zcash recently stood at over $121, jumping by 63% from the previous day, same time, CoinGecko data shows.

Over a seven-day period, it’s also the biggest winner in gains, having soared by more than 107%. The last time its price was this high was back in April 2022. The coin remains 96% below its 2016 all-time high of nearly $3,193.

Its surge comes as crypto market observers on X said that the coin was rebounding because it serves as insurance against bad actors using Bitcoin. Some observers have spoken about bad actors or governments surveilling Bitcoin users due to the coin’s transparent nature. Zcash may serve as a safer, alternative to BTC.

Entrepreneur and AngelList founder Naval Ravikant wrote that while “Bitcoin is insurance against fiat,” Zcash is insurance against Bitcoin.”

And ex-Coinbase engineer and Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz added that the coin was gaining popularity as “CBDCs and centralized coins accelerate.”

“Simply: a world where crypto succeeds but privacy doesn’t is a dystopian nightmare—we have no choice,” he said. “Private money has to work.”

Zcash is the 82nd biggest digital coin with a market cap of over $1.8 billion. As a privacy coin, Zcash enables users to send and receive money in private by encrypting transaction information using zero-knowledge proofs—a cryptographic method that proves something is known without revealing the known information directly.

CBDCs—or central bank digital currencies—are digital coins managed by a central bank. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Zcash, a government entity issues them.

A large segment of the crypto community has vehemently opposed CBDCs. And President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would never allow one in the U.S.

In January, the president signed an executive order prohibiting “the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.”