Zcash Price Surge Sparks Concern Over Narrative-Driven Momentum

Zcash's price surge to $1,130 in September 2026 has been met with skepticism by Wang Chun, co-founder of mining pool F2Pool. According to Chun, the rally is driven by narrative and speculative momentum rather than any fundamental changes in Zcash usage.

The catalyst for this move was Grayscale's conversion of its Zcash Trust into a U.S.-listed spot ETF in August 2026, which saw trading volume reach $3.18 billion on September 8. Chun notes that this level of activity is not typically associated with organic user growth in a privacy coin network.

Chun also points to the optional nature of Zcash's shielded transactions, which means that the majority of ZEC has historically circulated through transparent addresses. He also highlights the Founder Rewards mechanism, which directed 20% of every block reward to founders, investors, and the Electric Coin Company for four years, resulting in roughly 2.1 million ZEC (10% of the total supply cap) flowing to insiders.

The recent Orchard shielded pool vulnerability, disclosed in May 2026, also raises concerns about the potential for inflation within the network. Developers were unable to provide definitive cryptographic proof that the bug was not exploited.