Zcash Sees Price Potential in Growing Demand for Financial Privacy

Grayscale Research believes Zcash remains significantly undervalued despite its recent surge in value. According to their analysis, growing demand for financial privacy could allow Zcash to capture a larger share of Bitcoin's market capitalization.

ZEC has gained nearly 70% recently and about 350% year-to-date, yet its market capitalization remains below 1% of Bitcoin's. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl said that Zcash could compete with Bitcoin's powerful network effects because of its privacy-focused technology.

Pandl pointed to rising concerns over AI-driven surveillance, continued work to address threats such as quantum computing, and stronger cross-chain connectivity as potential catalysts for ZEC adoption. He also highlighted Zcash's use of 'intents' technology, which could allow users and AI agents to treat ZEC as a private asset hub connected to other blockchain ecosystems.

Grayscale outlined several scenarios for the Zcash price if the cryptocurrency captures a larger portion of Bitcoin's market capitalization. According to their research, reaching a 2% share could lift ZEC above $1,622. If Zcash eventually reaches 10% of Bitcoin's market cap within five years, its price could climb to approximately $8,100.