Zcash has returned to the top 20 largest crypto tokens by market capitalization, trading above $600 for the first time in nearly seven years.
The privacy-focused token has gained more than 1,270% year over year, according to CoinGecko data, pushing its market cap to just under $10 billion.
The rally coincides with a renewed focus on privacy infrastructure and a wave of technical upgrades from Electric Coin Company (ECC), one of the network’s developers and maintenance companies.
The growing popularity of the Zashi wallet, combined with upcoming developments under the Tachyon project, has revived both user activity and investor confidence, as noted by CoinDesk Research in its Zcash report.
Daily trading volume soared to over $1.8 billion, with increased liquidity on major platforms such as Binance, Hyperliquid and Bybit.
Futures markets rose in parallel. Data from CoinGlass shows that Binance leads in open interest with around $340 million, followed closely by Hyperliquid with $332 million, and Bybit in third with $157 million. Long-short ratios hover around parity (1.05-1.13), suggesting balanced market positioning rather than speculative madness.
Spot market indicators tell a complementary story. ZEC’s spot-to-futures ratio remains high, with approximately $801 million in 24-hour spot volume versus $4.5 billion in forward turnover – an indication that organic demand, rather than pure leverage, is driving this cycle’s movement.
Technically, a break above $500 represents a full retracement of the local highs of the 2021 cycle.
If momentum continues, Zcash could mark one of the strongest annual performances of any large-cap crypto asset in 2025 – making it not just a price recovery, but a narrative reset.
