Privacy Coin ZCash has nearly risen by 500% this month! Shielded supply has surged to 30%, returning to Satoshi Nakamoto's vision of "encryption cash"?

Privacy Coin ZCash (ZEC) has skyrocketed 488% since September 22, with a 266% rise just in Q4 2025 alone, briefly surpassing the psychological resistance level of $300. This strong upward momentum reflects a surge in market demand for on-chain privacy against the backdrop of increasingly stringent financial regulations. On-chain data shows that the number of ZEC tokens that are “shielded” has surged, currently approaching 30% of the total supply. With ZEC's open interest (OI) soaring to $244 million in just 20 days, Privacy Coins are once again in the spotlight, viewed as a manifestation of Satoshi Nakamoto's core concept of “encrypted and unstoppable cash.”

Privacy Demand Explodes: ZEC Price and On-Chain Activity Surge

Against the backdrop of increased global financial monitoring, the technical feature of ZCash—zero-knowledge proof—has made it the focus of attention, with both price and user adoption of privacy features experiencing explosive growth.

· Amazing price rise: The price of ZCash (ZEC) has increased from 46.2 USD on September 22 to 271.68 USD, with a rise of up to 488%. From October to date, the increase has reached 266%, briefly touching the psychological resistance level of 304 USD on October 21.

· The collective warming of Privacy Coins: Dash (DASH) and other Privacy Coins have also seen significant growth, rising 99% in October, indicating a surge in overall demand for privacy tokens.

· On-chain privacy usage surges: Data from zkp.baby shows that the number of ZEC tokens “shielded” surged from 3.82 million on October 8 to 4.864 million, nearing 30% of the total supply.

· The technological core of zero-knowledge proof: The “shielding” process utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography methods to transfer funds from a transparent pool to an anonymous pool, ensuring that the private data of transactions is not visible on the network, which is precisely the key advantage of ZEC technology.

Trader Frenzy: OI Surge Signals High Market Sentiment

ZEC's **open interest (OI) data indicates that retail traders are actively participating in this pump, with a significant inflow of funds reflecting the market's strong expectations for the future of this Token.

· OI big pump over 7 times: Coinalyze data shows that ZEC's OI increased by 16% in the past 24 hours, reaching 244 million USD at the time of writing. This figure represents an astonishing growth from 29 million USD on October 1, indicating a significant increase in leveraged trading activity.

· Retail profit chasing: The massive increase in OI indicates that retail traders are rapidly trying to profit from this rebound.

· Emotion-driven: This explosive growth indicates that ZEC is not merely an “old coin” fluctuating with Bitcoin's rebound, but rather driven by the market's reassessment of privacy value.

Satoshi Nakamoto's Vision: The Future of Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Encrypted Cash

Solana community contributor Mert and industry figures like Naval Ravikant have linked the privacy features of ZCash with the early adoption of Bitcoin and the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, giving ZEC a deeper fundamental significance.

· “Encrypted and unstoppable cash”: The privacy capabilities of ZEC embody the core concept of “encrypted and unstoppable cash”, which aligns with the early adoption logic of Bitcoin.

· Satoshi Nakamoto's early thoughts: Mert pointed out that Satoshi Nakamoto acknowledged that if zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) were feasible at the time, Bitcoin could have been constructed more conveniently, which provides historical endorsement for ZEC as the successor to Bitcoin's vision.

Technical Analysis and Trading Strategies: Breaking Through Key Resistance Levels

From a technical perspective, ZEC is currently in a critical short-term range, with market indicators showing strong buying pressure, but momentum has cooled down.

· Short-term range and resistance: ZEC is currently trading in a short-term range of 190 to 292 dollars (yellow area). The main supply zone above is located between 290 and 305 dollars, and 350 dollars is another resistance level worth noting.

· Strong buying pressure: The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) is above +0.05, indicating significant buying pressure.

· Momentum cooling signal: The Money Flow Index (MFI) is retreating from the overbought zone, indicating that the upward momentum is cooling.

· Trading advice: Swing traders may look to buy after a breakout in the range of $290 to $305, while long-term investors with confidence in privacy may not wait for a technical breakout.

Conclusion

The explosive rise of ZCash is a revival of “old coins” driven by market fundamentals, backed by the growing urgent demand for financial privacy. Nearly 30% of tokens are shielded on-chain data, which strongly proves its core practical value. As the importance of zero-knowledge proof technology continues to rise within the entire encryption ecosystem, ZEC is not only a temporary speculative hotspot but is more likely to be a key explorer in realizing Satoshi's vision of “encrypted cash”. Investors should focus on technological breakthroughs and market sentiment while recognizing the long-term potential of the privacy track as core infrastructure.

Disclaimer: This article is for news information only and does not constitute any investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and investors should make decisions with caution.