A new analysis from Galaxy Digital highlights that Zcash’s recent resurgence isn’t merely a trend; it marks a pivotal moment in the evolving landscape of privacy-focused cryptocurrency. On November 4, 2025, the firm published a report delving into the mechanisms behind ZEC’s impressive recovery, noting that the coin has appreciated approximately eightfold over the past month. This surge has ignited discussions about privacy becoming an essential feature rather than an afterthought in crypto.
Galaxy Digital attributes Zcash’s leap to its improved technology and user experience, especially the introduction of Electric Coin Company’s Zashi wallet. First launched in 2024 and refined this year, Zashi simplifies the user experience by abstracting the often complicated shielding process and allowing seamless transactions across different platforms via NEAR’s intent layer. This innovation enables users to express payment intentions without navigating cumbersome manual steps.
According to Galaxy, NEAR Intents empower users to designate transactions, such as sending ETH to a certain address, while automated systems manage liquidity and settlement across various chains. This streamlined approach results in minimal traceable activity on the blockchain, effectively enhancing user privacy. Furthermore, Zcash’s native view keys facilitate optional disclosure for compliance and auditing purposes, rendering the platform more accessible and appealing to institutional investors.
A noteworthy on-chain metric highlights that for the first time, over 30% of Zcash’s supply is now allocated in shielded pools, with the Orchard pool at the forefront, hosting the majority of approximately 4.9 million shielded ZEC. Galaxy succinctly captures the implications of this shift: “The larger the shielded pool, the harder it is to trace flows,” emphasizing that a more extensive anonymity set correlates with enhanced privacy.
Market trends also signal a renewed interest in Zcash. Galaxy characterizes the listing of ZEC perpetual contracts on the Hyperliquid exchange as a key indicator that Zcash is revitalizing itself. This has expanded trading access and brought increased liquidity, with open interest soaring to around $115 million by the end of October, promising further volatility in both upward and downward directions.
Galaxy’s report does not disregard the historical context of Zcash. It recognizes the protocol’s lineage, tracing back to Zerocoin and Zerocash, and emphasizes the pivotal upgrades that have shaped Zcash into the platform it is today—from Sapling in 2018 to NU5/Orchard in 2022, with a glimpse toward future enhancements such as NU6’s lockboxes.
As the cultural dialogue around crypto privacy heats up—a debate reminiscent of Bitcoin’s early days—Galaxy’s research situates the Zcash price rally against the backdrop of broader societal issues regarding privacy rights versus the necessity of transparency for regulatory compliance. While high-profile advocates and critics voice their opinions, the consensus is that the market is beginning to recognize privacy as a defining attribute of cryptocurrency rather than a secondary feature.
Despite these positive trends, risks persist. With Zcash’s node count remaining significantly lower than that of Bitcoin—around 100 to 120 full nodes compared to Bitcoin’s tens of thousands—concerns arise regarding the resilience of the network, particularly when verifying shielded transactions. Galaxy notes the importance of ongoing upgrades and future projects, like Sean Bowe’s “Project Tachyon,” which aims to enhance throughput without complicating the existing shielded protocol.
Ultimately, the key question remains: can Zcash sustain this dramatic rally? While Galaxy avoids issuing a specific price target, the potential for continued success hinges on whether the current advancements in user experience and privacy translate to authentic, organic market activity. If more assets are routed into ZEC via new functionalities and if Zcash continues to simplify its usability, the underlying ethos of “privacy by design” could move closer to becoming the norm.
At the time of writing, ZEC is trading at $463.98, a significant reflection of its recent performance and the rejuvenated interest in privacy-centric cryptocurrencies.
