Zcash (ZEC) achieved a significant milestone on Friday, October 25, 2025, reaching a price peak of $388, its highest point in eight years. This surge saw the privacy-focused cryptocurrency climb 7.6% within a 24-hour period, according to data from CoinMarketCap. At the time of reporting, ZEC commanded a market capitalization of $6.2 billion.
This impressive rally propelled Zcash past Monero, establishing it as the most valuable privacy cryptocurrency by market capitalization. ZEC demonstrated remarkable strength with a 45% gain over the past week, a notable achievement amidst broader weakness in the cryptocurrency market. The surge in Zcash's price occurred in the wake of failed tariff negotiations between the United States and China on Thursday.
The price movement also followed a prediction made by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who anticipated ZEC could reach $10,000 just days before the price surge. Hayes shared his outlook on Sunday, after which Zcash experienced a rapid ascent from $272 to $355 within a matter of hours. On-chain data indicated an increase in token holder counts, with addresses holding ZEC rising by 63% to 1,968 over the past week. However, Nansen data revealed that whale wallets collectively sold a net $702,000 in ZEC tokens.
Growing Demand for Financial Privacy Tools
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies have been gaining significant traction as investors increasingly seek anonymity features in the face of heightened regulatory oversight. Reports from FXStreet highlight that privacy coins have maintained their gains even as broader markets have declined. This resilience was particularly evident following the U.S. Department of Justice's seizure of $14 billion in Bitcoin. Furthermore, Japan's consideration of a ban on crypto-related insider trading has also contributed to a heightened interest in privacy assets.
Privacy tokens leverage advanced cryptographic techniques to obscure transaction details. Zcash, for instance, utilizes zero-knowledge proofs, specifically zk-SNARKs, to enable private transactions. These sophisticated features allow users to conceal information such as the sender, receiver, and the exact amount of each transaction. In contrast to Bitcoin transactions, which are traceable on public ledgers, privacy coins mask wallet addresses and payment histories, offering a greater degree of confidentiality.
Previous reports indicated an acceleration in institutional adoption throughout 2025, with a notable 40% increase in crypto millionaires globally, reaching 241,700 individuals. Traditional financial institutions have increasingly recognized cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class, leading to substantial growth in both corporate holdings and tokenized assets during 2025. This growing institutional interest has, in turn, fostered demand across various cryptocurrency categories, including those specifically designed for privacy.
Privacy Coins Face Regulatory Pressure Despite Market Performance
Despite their increasing market value, privacy cryptocurrencies continue to encounter mounting regulatory challenges on a global scale. Analysis from Blockhead indicates that only two cryptocurrency sectors have generated profits in the past month: privacy coins and exchange tokens. Zcash, Dash, and Monero have recorded substantial gains of 405%, 110%, and 6% respectively over the last 30 days.
In response to compliance concerns, centralized exchanges have begun delisting privacy coins from their trading platforms. Prominent platforms such as Kraken, Binance, and OKX have removed Monero from trading in various jurisdictions, including the European Union and South Korea. Monero alone faced 60 delistings in 2024, a sixfold increase compared to previous years, underscoring the intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
The regulatory landscape for privacy-focused assets remains uncertain. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines necessitate that exchanges collect customer information for all transfers, a requirement that privacy coins, by their very design, make difficult to fulfill. Consequently, countries like South Korea and Japan have already implemented bans on privacy coin listings on exchanges. Additionally, European Union regulations may introduce further restrictions on privacy-preserving technologies.
Notwithstanding these regulatory headwinds, search volumes for privacy cryptocurrencies reached record levels in October 2025. On-chain data further reveals an increase in activity across privacy tokens. Zcash's shielded pool adoption has grown, with nearly 30% of its total supply now anonymized. Market observers attribute this growing demand for specialized privacy assets to an increasing public awareness of financial privacy issues.