Zcash Surges to Eight-Year High on Growing Interest in Privacy Coin

Zcash (ZEC) has reached its highest price since 2018, with a nearly 50% gain in just four days. The cryptocurrency briefly touched $888 before pulling back to around $843, up roughly 7% over 24 hours and 48% since August 20.

The coin's surge is partly due to growing interest in Zcash as an alternative to Bitcoin with stronger privacy protections. Its unique shielded pool feature makes it difficult to track transactions on the network, unlike traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Open interest in ZEC perpetual futures has nearly doubled from $962.5 million on August 19 to $1.8 billion Monday, according to crypto derivatives data platform Loris Tools. This increase raises concerns about a potential short squeeze if ZEC continues to rise, or long liquidations if it falls.

The recent price action also comes as Grayscale filed to convert its Zcash Trust into an ETF in November, which is still under review. The proposal has likely contributed to the growing interest in Zcash, although the market was recently tested with a June drop from $635 to $309 due to a flaw in its Orchard shielded pool.

Despite this setback, developers issued an emergency patch and activated the Ironwood upgrade in July, which introduced accounting safeguards designed to trap counterfeit ZEC. The Winklevoss-backed Cypherpunk Technologies also launched a Zcash mining operation in August, aiming to acquire 5% of the circulating supply.