Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged to a new year-to-date high on May 20 amid a tepid cryptocurrency rally that also saw bitcoin briefly reclaim $78,000. Market data show ZEC jumped from $568 to an intraday peak of $686 in just over six hours, an increase of more than 17% over a 24-hour window.
Although it later retreated slightly, the privacy coin was still above $660 at the time of writing at 3:18 a.m. EST on May 21, leaving its daily gains well above 10%. ZEC’s latest surge lifted its weekly gains just above 25% and more than 90% since the beginning of the month. As a consequence, the privacy coin, which kicked off the month with an aggregate value of under $6 billion, saw its market cap surpass the $11 billion threshold.
In the meantime, ZEC’s latest parabolic rally saw $28.25 million in leveraged positions on the asset liquidated over 24 hours, the second highest this year. Coinglass data show liquidated short bets accounted for nearly $26.5 million, with the largest single liquidation of $2.68 million recorded.
Since early May, ZEC’s value has climbed steadily, fueled by high-profile endorsements from advocates who view it as the true embodiment of financial privacy—a trait critics argue bitcoin has lost. This renewed privacy narrative, coupled with an architecture widely considered superior to its rivals, helped ZEC eclipse Monero, which held a $7.3 billion market cap at the time of writing.
ZEC’s resurgence has even caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which recently dubbed the token a “more secret version of bitcoin.” Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale contends that financial privacy will define the next crypto cycle, with ZEC leading the charge.
On social media, some supporters of the privacy coin, like David Hoffman, believe ZEC — currently ranked 13th — deserves a spot in the top 10 digital assets by market cap. However, for the privacy coin to achieve that, its price will have to surpass the $1,000 threshold to overtake DOGE, whose market cap stood at $16.25 billion. The last time ZEC traded above $1,000 was in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Alex Gladstein’s May 20 X post on Zcash
Meanwhile, some critics see risks associated with the privacy coin’s sudden surge. Ted Pillows argued that the jump was, in fact, a short squeeze disguised as organic demand.
“Zcash hasn’t suddenly solved adoption, liquidity, or regulatory headwinds overnight,” Pillows said in a post on X. “This looks far more like a coordinated squeeze than organic demand. Low float + thin liquidity + aggressive perp positioning = violent upside candles.”
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