Zcash Rally Melts Faces, Reaching Levels Unseen Since 2018

Zcash (ZEC) – the long-standing privacy-focused cryptocurrency – is up another 33% today, nearly doubling its market capitalization on the week and compounding to gains of over 1,000% since its unrelenting rally commenced in late September.

What's the Scoop?

• ZEC Mania: Zcash's parabolic pump began in late September. It received mainstream crypto news coverage just days later, heralded as a clear signal for renewed interest in financial privacy and bullish tailwinds from a series of ecosystem developments.
• Sector Outperformance: Compared to Monero's XMR, another leading privacy sector coin, Zcash's ZEC has been the clear market favorite. During the six weeks prior to writing, ZEC outperformed its close competitor by ~850% in spite sizables XMR gains.
• Vicious Squeeze: Zcash's market capitalization was just 20% of Monero's when this rally began. ZEC's respective value status – combined with a multi-year period of price stagnancy – likely helped seed outsized gains, which now appear to be creating FOMO as the ZEC pump persists.
• Crypto Safe Haven: Crypto markets have declined since October (TOTAL is down approximately 14%), yet ZEC managed to defy the trend. Although crypto narratives constantly rotate, ZEC has no doubt cemented its status as "safe haven" during the recent market downturn.