What could affect the price of ZEC?

Zcash’s privacy features face challenges from regulations but also stand to benefit from upcoming technology improvements.

1. Privacy vs. Regulation – More people want privacy, but regulators are cracking down (NymVPN integration vs. Kraken’s XMR delisting).
2. Sapling Upgrade (Oct 2025) – This update will make private transactions faster and easier, which could increase Zcash’s usefulness.
3. Exchange Listings – Rumors about Coinbase listing Zcash and Nasdaq’s plans for a crypto platform in 2025 (source) could improve liquidity and trading options.

Deep Dive

1. Privacy Demand vs. Regulatory Scrutiny (Mixed Impact)

Overview: In May 2025, Zcash’s private transactions using zk-SNARKs increased by 15.5%, mainly due to interest from institutions wanting confidential transactions. However, regulatory actions like the SEC’s 2024 lawsuit against Tornado Cash and the EU’s MiCA rules now require exchanges to monitor private ZEC transactions.

What this means: If adoption of privacy features (like NymVPN’s ZEC payments) grows faster than regulations tighten, it’s a positive sign. But if exchanges start limiting Zcash like they have with Monero, it could hurt the coin.

2. Sapling Upgrade & Ecosystem Growth (Bullish)

Overview: The Sapling upgrade, expected in October 2025, will reduce the memory needed for private transactions by 97%, making it easier to use Zcash on mobile devices. The Zcash Ecosystem Fund, with $16.8 million as of September 2025, supports projects like Maya Protocol that enable cross-chain swaps.

What this means: These improvements could make Zcash more attractive for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Technical indicators like the MACD (2.93 vs. 2.52) and RSI (74.32) suggest positive momentum.

3. Exchange Dynamics & Liquidity (Bullish Risk)

Overview: Binance removed restrictions on ZEC trading in July 2025, increasing trading volume. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s recent social media activity has sparked speculation about a potential Zcash listing. On the other hand, Bittrex delisted ZEC in 2023 due to compliance concerns.

What this means: If Coinbase lists Zcash, it could see a price surge similar to Ethereum Classic’s 85% jump after its 2023 listing. However, ZEC’s low turnover ratio (0.091) indicates liquidity could be limited, posing some risk.

Conclusion

Zcash’s future price depends on whether its privacy technology (like Sapling and NymVPN) gains traction faster than regulatory pressures increase. Keep an eye on how quickly the October 2025 upgrade is adopted and any new SEC guidance on private transactions. Will ZEC’s private transaction volume stay above 3 million coins despite growing regulatory challenges?

What are people saying about ZEC?

Zcash’s privacy technology is driving interest and sparking conversations—shielded transactions are growing, but users face challenges with exchanges. Here’s what’s trending:

1. Privacy partnerships grow – NymVPN now accepts ZEC payments
2. Price optimism – Traders are eyeing $60 as shielded transaction volume rises
3. Centralized exchange (CEX) frustrations – Users want easier, non-custodial ways to access ZEC
4. Developer fund vote – The community is deciding how Zcash’s development will be funded

Deep Dive

1. @nymproject: ZEC-powered VPN subscriptions

"NymVPN now accepts shielded ZEC payments, combining network and financial privacy through zk-Nym credentials."
– @nymproject (82K followers · 1.2M impressions · 2025-07-13 08:03 UTC)
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What this means: This is a positive sign for ZEC as it shows real-world privacy applications expanding. However, widespread adoption will depend on how easy the user experience is. Shielded transactions increased to 3.06 million ZEC, up 15.5% from last month, showing growing demand.

2. @johnmorganFL: $60 price target gains traction

"ZEC broke $50 resistance – next stop $60 if volume holds. RSI 74 warns of overheating."
– @johnmorganFL (24K followers · 380K impressions · 2025-07-26 11:56 UTC)
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What this means: In the short term, the outlook is mixed. ZEC has gained 47% this year but faces resistance near $58.50, the high from 2024. Open interest in derivatives reached $14.35 million, up 13% week-over-week, which could increase price swings.

3. @KeenanRIVALS: CEX dependency backlash

"How do you buy ZEC without centralized exchanges? Replenishing via CEX defeats privacy."
– @KeenanRIVALS (9K followers · 85K impressions · 2025-09-22 18:30 UTC)
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What this means: This is a challenge for wider adoption. Only 18% of ZEC wallets currently use shielded addresses, which protect user privacy. New solutions like Zashi Wallet’s decentralized exchange (DEX) swaps, launched in August 2025, could help users avoid centralized exchanges and improve privacy.

4. @ElectricCoinCo: Funding crossroads

"Vote concludes Sept 30 on Zcash’s dev fund – 6 proposals, including 20% miner tax renewal."
– @ElectricCoinCo (210K followers · 950K impressions · 2025-08-01 15:21 UTC)
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What this means: Opinions are mixed. Past funding helped improve the protocol but faced criticism for centralizing control. If the community votes “no,” development on important projects like the Zebra node could slow down.

Conclusion

The general outlook for ZEC is optimistic but cautious. Privacy features and shielded transactions are gaining momentum, but reliance on centralized exchanges and uncertainty about funding limit growth potential. Keep an eye on the September 30 developer fund vote—renewal could speed up upgrades, while rejection might cause concerns about governance.

What is the latest news about ZEC?

Zcash is gaining momentum as demand for privacy grows, while also managing changes in exchanges and technology updates. Here are the key recent highlights:

1. NymVPN Adds Shielded ZEC Payments (July 13, 2025) – Users can now pay for VPN services anonymously using Zcash’s private transactions.
2. Binance Removes ZEC Monitoring Tag (July 9, 2025) – This reduces concerns about Zcash being delisted, showing increased trust from big investors.
3. Community Votes on Developer Funding (June 1, 2025) – An important decision is underway about how to fund Zcash’s future development.

In-Depth Look

1. NymVPN Adds Shielded ZEC Payments (July 13, 2025)

What happened: Zcash teamed up with Nym, a privacy-focused network, to let users pay for VPN subscriptions using shielded ZEC transactions. This means payments are private and unlinkable, combining Zcash’s technology that hides transaction details with Nym’s system that masks internet activity.

Why it matters: This partnership makes Zcash more useful in real-world privacy tools. It appeals to users who want both their payments and online activity to stay private. Currently, only about 3.1 million ZEC are used in shielded (private) transactions compared to 12.9 million in transparent ones, so this could boost private usage. (Nym Project)

2. Binance Removes ZEC Monitoring Tag (July 9, 2025)

What happened: Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges, removed a “Monitoring Tag” on Zcash. This tag had flagged ZEC for regulatory and liquidity risks since 2023.

Why it matters: Removing the tag is a positive sign, showing Binance’s increased confidence in Zcash’s compliance and market health. After the announcement, ZEC’s trading volume increased by 9% to about $86 million in 24 hours. However, privacy coins like Zcash still face challenges worldwide—some exchanges, like EXMO, have recently delisted ZEC due to concerns over anonymity.

3. Community Votes on Developer Funding (June 1, 2025)

What happened: The Zcash Foundation started a community vote on how to allocate funds from mining rewards, which currently provide 20% of the budget for development. The vote will decide how much goes to core developers, grants, marketing, and other areas.

Why it matters: This decision is crucial for Zcash’s future. Without funding, important projects like the Zebra Rust client and Orchard shielded pools could slow down. Past funding helped launch tools like Zashi Wallet 2.0. The outcome, expected by November 2025, will influence whether Zcash can keep up with competitors like Monero in technology and developer support.

Conclusion

Zcash is working to balance innovation in privacy with staying attractive to exchanges and regulators. Partnerships like the one with Nym show progress in real-world use, while Binance’s removal of the monitoring tag and the upcoming funding vote highlight growing maturity in governance. Still, regulatory challenges remain. With about 19% of ZEC currently used in shielded transactions, the big question is whether demand for privacy will overcome ongoing compliance hurdles in the second half of 2025.

What is expected in the development of ZEC?

Zcash’s roadmap centers on governance, strengthening its protocol, and growing its privacy-focused ecosystem.

1. Dev Fund Vote (November 2025) – The community will decide how to fund development after 2025.
2. Protocol Foundation (2026) – Engineering upgrades to improve scalability and support future features.
3. Privacy Ecosystem Expansion (Ongoing) – Adding new privacy tools and integrating with decentralized finance (DeFi).

Deep Dive

1. Dev Fund Vote (November 2025)

Overview: The Zcash community is voting on six different proposals to replace the current development fund, which takes 20% of mining rewards to support the ecosystem (Kanalcoin). This fund expires in 2025, so the vote will decide how future upgrades, security audits, and partnerships get financed.

What this means: If the community chooses a sustainable funding plan, it’s a positive sign for Zcash’s future innovation. Without it, development could slow down, which would be a negative for ZEC.

2. Protocol Foundation (2026)

Overview: The Electric Coin Company (ECC) engineering team is working on key upgrades to make Zcash more scalable and ready for future features like proof-of-stake, which could reduce energy use (Zcash Blog).

What this means: This is neutral in the short term but could be very positive long-term. Any delays or technical challenges might mean Zcash continues relying on energy-heavy mining longer than planned.

3. Privacy Ecosystem Expansion (Ongoing)

Overview: Zcash is expanding its privacy tools by integrating with projects like Maya Protocol for DeFi swaps and NymVPN for network privacy. The Zashi wallet’s 2025 update also makes private transactions easier for everyday users (Kanalcoin).

What this means: These improvements could boost adoption by making privacy-focused finance more accessible. However, regulatory scrutiny remains a potential challenge.

Conclusion

Zcash’s near-term priority is securing ongoing development funding. Looking ahead, upgrades to the protocol and new ecosystem partnerships aim to strengthen its position as a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The big question is whether growing regulatory support for privacy tech will help Zcash compete against newer privacy coins.

What updates are there in the ZEC code base?

Zcash’s software is actively being improved, focusing on better privacy features and updating its technology infrastructure.

1. zcashd 6.3.0 Release (August 1, 2025) – A required upgrade that activates a new test network version (NU6.1) and fixes bugs related to private transactions.
2. Zcashd Deprecation Plan (April 17, 2025) – The old Zcash node software is being replaced by Zebra nodes and the Zallet wallet throughout 2025.
3. Zashi 2.0.3 Update (May 21, 2025) – Enhancements to managing private addresses and adding support for cross-chain swaps.

Deep Dive

1. zcashd 6.3.0 Release (August 1, 2025)

Overview: This mandatory update activates Network Upgrade 6.1 (NU6.1) on the test network and fixes important issues with Orchard shielded transactions, which are Zcash’s private transactions.

The update turns on NU6.1 at a specific block height (3,536,500) on the testnet. This upgrade improves how transactions are processed, making them more efficient. It also fixes a bug where certain private transactions weren’t correctly shown in users’ transparent balances when using commands like getbalance. The default transaction format was updated to version 5 (NU5 standard), which better supports modern private transaction pools.

What this means: This is positive news for ZEC holders because it improves wallet performance and prepares the network for future upgrades on the main Zcash blockchain. Users need to update their software by August 6, 2025, to avoid interruptions. (Source)

2. Zcashd Deprecation Plan (April 17, 2025)

Overview: The older Zcash node software, called zcashd, is being phased out and replaced by newer technology: Zebra nodes and the Zallet wallet.

Some key commands like createrawtransaction and signrawtransaction are being retired, and others such as z_getbalance are turned off by default. Users must add a special line (i-am-aware-zcashd-will-be-replaced-by-zebrad-and-zallet-in-2025=1) to their configuration files to confirm they understand this change.

What this means: This change is neutral for ZEC’s value but important for the network’s long-term health. Zebra nodes offer better speed and easier maintenance. Developers and node operators should prepare for these changes to the software’s interface. (Source)

3. Zashi 2.0.3 Update (May 21, 2025)

Overview: This wallet update improves how users manage shielded (private) addresses and adds support for swapping ZEC across different blockchains using the Maya Protocol.

The update makes the app easier to navigate and supports private ZEC swaps on decentralized exchanges like Maya. It also introduces dynamic fee adjustments and better compatibility with privacy-focused decentralized finance (DeFi) tools.

What this means: This is good news for ZEC because it expands practical uses for private transactions and makes the wallet easier to use—both important for wider adoption. (Source)

Conclusion

Zcash’s software is evolving to focus on privacy, scalability, and user experience—key reasons behind its recent 55% price increase over 30 days. With NU6.1 testing in progress and infrastructure upgrades underway, these improvements could strengthen ZEC’s role in the growing privacy technology space.

Why did the price of ZEC go up?

Zcash (ZEC) increased by 7.28% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the overall crypto market, which dropped by 1.28%. The main reasons for this rise are:

1. Technical breakout – ZEC surpassed an important resistance level at $55.85 (based on a common technical analysis tool called the 23.6% Fibonacci level).
2. Privacy adoption – NymVPN now accepts shielded ZEC payments for subscriptions, enhancing privacy for users.
3. Market rotation – The Altcoin Season Index is at 70, indicating investors are moving money into riskier assets like altcoins.

Deep Dive

1. Technical Momentum (Positive Signal)

Overview:
ZEC’s price moved above a key technical level at $55.85, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 69.5, which means the coin is close to being overbought but not excessively so. Another indicator, the MACD histogram, turned positive (+0.40), showing increasing buying momentum.

What this means:
Traders reacted to breaking through the $55-$56 resistance area, which was last tested in May 2025. Trading volume jumped 127% to $145 million, confirming strong interest. The next important level to watch is $52.58, which now acts as support.

Watch:
If ZEC closes above $57.60 on the daily chart, it could continue rising toward $67.20.

2. Privacy Utility Expansion (Positive Signal)

Overview:
Starting July 13, 2025, NymVPN began accepting shielded ZEC payments. This means users can pay for VPN subscriptions using Zcash transactions that are private and untraceable, combined with Nym’s network-level privacy.

What this means:
This partnership gives ZEC’s privacy features practical use, especially after recent security concerns with other privacy coins like Monero. It allows:

• Subscription payments that can’t be traced back to users
• Lower risk of leaking IP addresses or other metadata for ZEC users

3. Altcoin Market Dynamics (Mixed Signals)

Overview:
Bitcoin’s market share rose to 58.08%, but the Altcoin Season Index remains high at 70. This suggests investors are still moving funds into altcoins like ZEC, which are considered higher risk but potentially higher reward.

What this means:
ZEC’s 47% gain over the past 30 days fits with traders looking for coins that haven’t yet reached their 2024 highs. However, a 31% drop in derivatives trading volume across the sector indicates this rally is mostly driven by direct buying rather than speculative trading.

Conclusion

Zcash’s recent price jump is driven by strong technical momentum and increased use of its privacy features. However, maintaining support above $52 is crucial for sustaining this growth. The key factor to watch is whether the NymVPN partnership leads to a noticeable increase in shielded ZEC transactions over the next 48 hours.