Zcash price primed for 45% breakout as Grayscale files for ETF

Privacy token Zcash is ready to rip 45%, says Maria Carola, CEO of crypto exchange StealthEx.

She argues that growing interest on Wall Street, most recently Grayscale’s exchange-traded fund filing on Wednesday, will propel the $8.3 billion crypto to new highs.

“A decisive break above $750 with sustained bullish momentum could open the path towards moving above $1,000 before the end of Q4,” Carola told DL News.

That would translate to Zcash’s price surging 45% above its current price of $515.

Privacy coins are “operating with an entirely different playbook from the wider market,” Carola said. “They are benefiting from the long-suppressed demand for privacy-preserving tools and prevalent policy legislation in this direction.”

And Carola is far from the only one bullish on Zcash. She joins the ranks of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, popular YouTuber Mario Nawfal, and prominent Indian investor Naval Ravikant, who have all come out in support of Zcash.

A slew of investors have also told DL News that they expect Zcash to surge higher.

The bullishness comes as influential voices in the crypto community — such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin — are increasingly calling for better privacy solutions.

Grayscale shoots for ETF

The bullish projections come as Grayscale, the crypto asset manager that pioneered Wall Street products, files to transform its existing Zcash Trust product into a spot exchange-traded fund.

Grayscale’s registration statement submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday would mark the launch of the first US spot ETF directly tracking Zcash. The move comes just days after it launched ETFs linked to XRP and Dogecoin.

The firm joins a growing number of major institutions that have come out supporting Zcash.

Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz and crypto investment manager Galaxy Digital have both noted the buzz around Zcash and other privacy-focused crypto projects like Monero and Railgun.

Cypherpunk, the crypto treasury company backed by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and launched earlier this month, has deployed over $50 million into Zcash.

As of November 19, Cypherpunk holds 1.43% of the total Zcash supply and is gunning for 5% ownership of all tokens.

Privacy controversies

To be sure, not everyone backs privacy coins.

EU lawmakers have passed a bill to ban exchanges from listing tokens like Zcash and Monero, citing anti-money laundering concerns. The ban is set to take effect in 2027.

Regulators in the US and Europe are cracking down on developers of privacy tools.

In the Netherlands, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was convicted of money laundering in 2024. Prosecutors said his code helped criminals conceal stolen crypto.

In the US, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm was found guilty of running an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Samourai Wallet’s Keonne Rodriguez received the maximum five-year sentence for similar charges.

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email at lance@dlnews.com.