Zcash Surges as Market Sees Bitcoin's 'Calcification' as Risk
Zcash's market value surged to approximately $23 billion after its price climbed to around $1,388, representing a gain of 15-20% in 24 hours. According to Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare and co-founder of Zcash, this increase is partly driven by concerns that Bitcoin has 'calcified beyond repair.'
Ben-Sasson has previously criticized Bitcoin's fixed supply cap, arguing it creates long-term risks due to lost keys and eroding miner incentives. He proposed an alternative issuance rate pegged to population growth in July 2026.
The recent NU7 governance vote saw approximately 2.4 million ZEC holders participate, with a staggering 99.9% voting in favor of reducing block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and 98.9% supporting the retention of Bitcoin-style halvings for ZEC's emission schedule.
The block time reduction triples Zcash's transaction throughput, making it more competitive with faster Layer 1 chains. The community's decision signals that they value the deflationary pressure pioneered by Bitcoin while pushing for technical upgrades.