Zcash gains as shielded supply hits record

Zcash rallied more than 13% over the past 24 hours, outperforming major cryptocurrencies as on-chain data showed record adoption of its privacy-focused transaction features.

The amount of ZEC held in shielded pools reached an all-time high of approximately 5.1 million coins, with the majority stored in the network's Orchard privacy pool, highlighting growing demand for confidential transactions.

The increase follows a more favourable regulatory backdrop for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency after the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation earlier this year and Grayscale moved to convert its Zcash trust into a spot exchange-traded fund.

At the same time, Zcash's network hashrate climbed to a record 16.3 GH/s in late May, signalling stronger miner participation and increased security for the blockchain.

The network's rising hashrate comes after the November 2024 halving reduced new token issuance, suggesting miners remain confident in the long-term economics of the network despite tighter supply conditions.

Market data also showed ZEC attracting buying interest while larger cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana experienced net selling pressure, with traders increasing leveraged positions tied to the privacy coin.

However, analysts noted that ZEC's annualised funding rate has risen to roughly 40.8%, indicating crowded bullish positioning that could trigger increased volatility or a rapid pullback if momentum begins to weaken.

At the time of reporting, Zcash price was $618.21.