“Insurance Against Bitcoin”: Zcash (ZEC) Rallies 1,500% as VCs Champion Privacy Coins

Zcash (ZEC) has reclaimed the $700 level following a fierce debate between Bitcoin maximalists and privacy‑coin supporters. With ZEC jumping more than 1,500% since October, flipping Monero to become the dominant privacy coin by market cap, high-profile supporters like Arthur Hayes forecast a potential $10,000 price target.

Zcash activity has skyrocketed as the Zcash mainnet processed 44,505 transactions in the past 24 hours, a staggering 1,300% jump from its usual 3,000 daily average before the October rally began. On November 13, on‑chain activity peaked at 73,862 transactions, .

Mainnet trading volume has kept pace, surging to 1.67 million ZEC ($1.17 billion) in 24 hours. The move validates a long-held thesis by investors like Naval Ravikant, who once called Zcash “insurance against Bitcoin” when it traded near $75, highlighting the market’s growing demand for privacy.

As ZEC’s 24-hour trading volume jumped 80%, pushing the price from a $598 low to over $700, the rally is challenging the Bitcoin-only narrative. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley noted that the “Bitcoin only, everything else is a scam” crowd would struggle to explain ZEC’s explosive performance.

With ZEC flipping Monero to become the world’s largest privacy coin by market cap, now above $11.2 billion, Hayes has confirmed that his family office, Maelstrom, holds Zcash as its second‑largest liquid position after Bitcoin.

This institutional interest is also visible in equities. Leap Therapeutics to Cypherpunk Technologies, a dedicated Zcash treasury firm backed by Winklevoss Capital, sending its stock soaring 170%.

The ZEC weekly chart shows a clean breakout from a multi‑year falling wedge followed by a vertical rally. After clearing resistance at $70, $130, and $190, key Fibonacci extension levels, the price smashed through the 1.618 Fib at $93 and extended far beyond the 4.236 level near $190.

Should momentum continue, ZEC could attempt psychological resistance near $800, followed by $1,000. However, if a correction begins, initial support sits around $500-$550, with deeper retracement potentially retesting the old breakout zone near $190 if market conditions sharply reverse.