Zcash [ZEC] surged 17.49% to $668.60 on Friday, becoming one of the top gainers of the day amid a wider cryptocurrency market rally. The positive price movement followed Grayscale's advancement of its plans to list its Zcash Trust on NYSE Arca, alongside an engineering update designed to improve wallet performance.
Grayscale Filing and Proposed ZEC Arrangement
On August 18, Grayscale filed its fourth amended registration statement for the Zcash Trust with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing outlines plans to move the trust from the OTCQX market to NYSE Arca under the existing ZCSH ticker. The proposed structure would allow the trust to issue shares continuously and introduce a redemption program aimed at keeping the share price closer to the value of its underlying ZEC holdings.
Additionally, the filing disclosed discussions with Digital Currency Group (DCG) regarding a potential contribution of approximately 200,000 ZEC through an authorized participant in exchange for trust shares. While these discussions are non-binding and DCG could ultimately contribute more, fewer, or no tokens, the proposed amount is substantial given that the trust held approximately 388,674 ZEC at the end of June.
Price Action and Network Updates
During Friday's trading session, ZEC reached highs of $682.36 as trading volume rose and traders pushed the coin past $560 and $600. The asset faces an immediate test around the $680 resistance zone, a level where previous attempts to advance retreated in May. On the downside, $600 serves as the primary support level that buyers would need to defend in the event of a market slowdown.
In addition to the market activity, recent engineering updates have improved network efficiency. Zakura reported making the hashing process used by Zcash wallets and nodes more than 15 times faster than its initial implementation. The Ironwood upgrade delivers immediate benefits to users through faster wallet synchronization and enhanced performance when processing private transactions.
