Zcash (ZEC) retreated to $1,429 on Sunday after a sharp rally, falling from a year-to-date high of $1,590 reached on September 18. The pullback ended a streak of consecutive double-digit daily gains and coincided with Grayscale's announcement of a 3-for-1 share split for its Zcash ETF. Despite the decline, ZEC found support above $1,440, recording a daily loss of approximately 5%.
The privacy coin remained significantly stronger over longer timeframes. Over the past seven days, ZEC was up 31%, ranking among the best-performing digital assets. According to Coingecko data, the token is up more than 200% from its June 22 price of $445 and over 8,800% since hitting an all-time low of $16.04 on July 4, 2024.
Grayscale's share split, effective September 30, lowers the ETF's per-share price without changing total investor value. Since the ETF's launch on August 25, it has recorded net outflows only twice, with net assets reaching $914 million by September 18.
Development Fund Governance Dispute
As Zcash's price momentum continues, a governance debate has emerged surrounding the Zcash Development Fund, which allocates a portion of block rewards to protocol development and is set to expire in 2028.
Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi recently proposed winding down the Dev Fund at its scheduled expiration, arguing that the approximately $95 million balance is sufficient to complete remaining protocol work. Qureshi cautioned that allowing the treasury to exceed $100 million risks increasing political friction over grant allocations.
Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang countered that ongoing development funding is essential to prepare Zcash for long-term technological challenges, including advances in quantum computing and AI surveillance.
Naval Ravikant, co-founder of AngelList, rejected the premise of off-chain social governance and perpetual development levies, arguing that such structures risk creating Sybil attacks and unending political disputes rather than allowing token holders direct control.
