ZEC extends rally to over $151 as attention shifted to older altcoins

ZEC entered an unstoppable rally loop, briefly breaking above $150. The privacy coin expanded its activity on Binance, as attention shifted to older altcoins. 

ZCash (ZEC) extended the week’s rally, breaking the $150 milestone. The asset returned to levels not seen since April 2022, but has yet to prove the rally is sustainable. Still, the token recovered above the levels from the end of 2024. 

The token delivered on predictions of recovering the $100 level easily and continued its rally after lagging behind other assets during the 2025 bull market. The token was just outside the top 100 of assets and has now moved to rank #65.

ZEC broke out after months of low activity

ZEC managed to break a long period of hovering around $50. The token also broke above $1B in daily trading volumes, a level not seen since the 2021-2022 bull market. Despite this, ZEC still has thin liquidity on some markets, suggesting the rally may not be sustainable. 

At the $150 price level, ZEC has liquidated most short positions, while long positions remain intact. Based on the available liquidity, ZEC may dip as low as $105 to challenge the accumulated long positions. The liquidation heatmap suggests the current ZEC rally may be almost over, though irrational trading may continue.

The token is now used for speculative derivative trading, with open interest rising to an all-time peak of $133M. While highly risky, ZEC is seen as an opportunity due to its clear direction. 

The token is still down over 95% from its initial all-time peak, and shows that social media mindshare and altcoin activity can still revive even older assets. Additionally, ZEC is enjoying a KuCoin premium, briefly touching $152. The token also expanded its derivative activity, as the 2025 crypto markets offer more mature trading tools. 

Previously, ZEC relied on narratives of privacy, as well as frenzies around hard forks. This time, the rally was self-enforcing, based on expanded derivative trading. 

ZEC hype takes over through social media influencers

The ZEC rally is highly visible on social media, awakening previously silent supporters. ZEC accelerated further after a mention from Naval Ravikant, entrepreneur, investor, and occasional crypto supporter. 

He kept mentioning or commenting on the role of ZEC as a viable use case for private payments. 

Satoshi himself can’t use Bitcoin. https://t.co/MGNhfWmHtm

— Naval (@naval) October 2, 2025

Previously, Naval called ZEC an “insurance against Bitcoin,” based on its privacy features and claims of quantum resistance. 

The privacy narrative has also lifted XMR to over $317, near its one-month peak. XMR is also attractive for its mining opportunity. For now, privacy coins are still restricted on multiple exchanges, but they still find sufficient liquidity. ZEC is one of the few that preserved its listings on major markets. 

For now, privacy coins are not represented on major perp DEX markets. ZEC is not available on Hyperliquid in any tokenized form. Both XMR and have limited tokenized versions and have not been used as DeFi collaterals or for lending. 

Privacy assets retain their use case as untraceable payment tools, with few other use cases in the crypto ecosystem.

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