Zcash Extends October Rally: What's Driving the Surge?

In brief

Zcash has surged over 140% in two weeks, hitting its highest level since 2021.
Nearly $2 million in short positions were liquidated as the token climbed to $170.
Analysts cite Grayscale access and endorsements from Naval Ravikant as key drivers.

The token belonging to privacy blockchain Zcash has more than tripled in value in under two weeks, reaching its highest price in over three years amid a broader crypto rally that has favored some assets more than others.

Zcash is posting double-digit gains, edging out 26% over the past 24 hours to $170, according to CoinGecko data, after rallying more than 140% in little under 14 days. Nearly $2 million in short positions have been liquidated as a result, CoinGlass data shows.

The rally stems from a combination of new institutional access and influential social media endorsements, experts told Decrypt.

“The recent price rise can be heavily attributed to Grayscale recently allowing eligible investors to gain exposure via their funds, along with prominent voices like investor Naval Ravikant voicing support,” Sean Dawson, head of research at on-chain options platform Dervie, told Decrypt.

The analyst’s comments align with sentiment data from crypto research platform Messari, which shows a 1,000% increase in Zcash’s mindshare in recent weeks.

The token has garnered social media mentions from prominent crypto personalities, including Ravikant, an American venture capitalist, and Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure firm Helius Labs, which accelerated its breakout rally after a three-year muted sideways trend, Decrypt previously reported.

Zcash is a privacy-focused crypto that lets users send and receive transactions privately using zero-knowledge proofs to encrypt transaction information.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Zcash supports fully private transactions through its shielded addresses, which can conceal sender, receiver, and amount information on-chain.

“Bitcoin is insurance against fiat. ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin,” Ravikant wrote, speaking to the privacy nature of Zcash in a tweet on October 1.

Dawson added that in the context of Bitcoin’s own surge, “investors are looking for outsized returns in related projects—a ZK version of Bitcoin is appealing.”

Some top altcoins have fared better than others this year, with tokens such as Chainlink, Cardano, Sui, and Dogecoin posting performances ranging from single-digit gains to double-digit losses.

Finding individual “pockets of strength” with altcoins like Zcash is not uncommon despite the current cycle’s largely institutional-driven capital flows, Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, told Decrypt on Wednesday.