Zcash Rockets Back Into Spotlight After Surging to Top of Coinbase Search Rankings

• Zcash (ZEC) became the most-searched asset on Coinbase, registering approximately 52,000 searches, surpassing XRP (41,000) and Bitcoin (39,000).
• The surge in popularity coincided with a four-digit percentage price rally over the past year, temporarily pushing the privacy-focused token back into the large-cap bracket.
• The demand is driven by growing concerns over surveillance and stricter digital asset oversight, positioning ZEC as an “encrypted Bitcoin” or hedge against future regulation.

Zcash (ZEC), once considered a legacy token and forgotten by pretty much everyone in the crypto community, has topped Coinbase’s search rankings.

According to a screenshot shared by Zcash adviser Thor Torrens, ZEC registered around 52,000 searches on Coinbase, ahead of XRP at roughly 41,000 and Bitcoin at about 39,000. 

The spike in popularity coincided with a rally that temporarily pushed ZEC back into the large-cap bracket, despite it being one of the market’s older, often overlooked assets. We’re talking about a four-digit percentage gain over the past year. The chart below paints a good picture:

Source: TradingView.

Read more: Cardano Chain Splits After Dev Follows “Dumb” AI Advice, Hoskinson Calls In FBI

So, How Did ZEC Get So Far, and So Fast?

Zcash was launched in 2016 as a proof-of-work (PoW) network, with a 21 million coin cap privacy token, ZEC. The network uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to support both transparent and fully private transactions. 

The project was founded by computer security specialist and cypherpunk Zooko Wilcox, co-founder of the Electric Coin Company (ECC), who now serves as a board director rather than CEO.

A lot of the demand has been supported by growing concern over surveillance and stricter oversight of digital assets, which has pushed some investors toward privacy tools.

Privacy-focused institutions, including Cypherpunk Technologies and the Grayscale Zcash Trust, have accumulated sizable ZEC positions, reinforcing the view that the asset could retain long-term relevance.

A Few Concerns

Some investors and commentators have framed Zcash as a kind of “encrypted Bitcoin” or hedge against future regulation, so essentially an alternative for those worried about traceable public ledgers. 

But other analysts have noted that the move into ZEC also appears to reflect a broader rotation of capital toward the privacy sector as other narratives in the crypto market have faded. As reported, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas compared the current promotion of Zcash to a “third-party candidate” in politics.

Nevertheless, the exorbitant promotion has raised some eyebrows. Mark Moss, chief Bitcoin strategist at Satsuma UK, shared a DM showing agencies reaching out to propose paid Zcash campaigns. 

Related: Aerodrome DEX Hit by DNS Hijack, Users Steered to Phishing Sites on Base

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