Zcash traded above $1,000 for the first time in its history this week, reaching $1,046 on September 4 before settling around $1,010. The privacy coin now holds a $17 billion market cap, ranking 11th among cryptocurrencies and surpassing dogecoin's $13.4 billion valuation.
The surge reflects a dramatic recovery after zcash bottomed near $250 in early June. The token traded between $400 and $580 throughout July before accelerating sharply after August 21. Over 30 days, zcash gained 98%, while its 12-month return reached 2,296%.
ETF Inflows Drive Interest
Grayscale's conversion of its nine-year-old Zcash Trust into ZCSH, the first U.S. spot exchange-traded fund holding the token, coincided with the rally. ZCSH began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25 with a 2.5% fee. By September 3, the fund held $414.7 million in assets, up from $304 million at conversion.
The momentum liquidated roughly $34.5 million in short positions on Friday as open interest peaked near $2.15 billion.
Prominent Backers
Several high-profile investors publicly backed the privacy coin this week. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan identified zcash as one of three core crypto positions worth holding, alongside bitcoin for currency debasement protection. Alliance DAO founding partner Qiao Wang stated on the Steady Lads podcast that his personal crypto portfolio contains only bitcoin and zcash, with the zcash position rivaling his entire equity holdings on a risk-adjusted basis.
One year ago, zcash traded around $40. By March it had reached $200 before accelerating further.
