Zcash search volume beats Bitcoin! From relic big pump 10 times to the top of the U.S. exchange list.

Zcash's stock price soared over 10 times in a matter of weeks, briefly returning to the large-cap stock ranks, with a valuation exceeding $10 billion. On the largest compliance encryption exchange in the United States, ZEC became the most searched asset in mid-November, with approximately 52,000 searches, surpassing Bitcoin and XRP. This surge was supported by several practical changes, including the Halving reducing the Block Reward, the rise in protected balances, and the financing model controlled by NU6.1 holders.

From Low-Key Relics to the Dramatic Transformation of Search Kings

(Source: X)

Zcash was not originally seen as a focal point in this market cycle. Over the past few years, this privacy coin has remained relatively obscure, while Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and a series of endlessly emerging “meme coins” have dominated the headlines and trading activity. For many traders, Zcash was considered a relic of the previous privacy cycle, a leftover token from an old era rather than a strong competitor in the narrative of the new age.

Then November arrived. Within just a few days, Zcash topped the search ranking on the largest compliance cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. A screenshot shared by Zcash advisor Thor Torrens shows that ZEC received about 52,000 searches on the platform. This surpassed XRP and Bitcoin, which had search volumes of approximately 41,000 and 39,000, respectively. This clearly reflects the curiosity of retail, with thousands of users entering “Zcash” into the search bar of one of the largest fiat gateways in the world.

At the same time, the price of ZEC has skyrocketed, achieving a four-digit percentage increase over the past year, pushing the token back into the ranks of large market cap tokens at one point. From late September to early November, the price of ZEC climbed from the mid-$70s to over $700, with autumn gains exceeding 1000% at one point, and a monthly increase of over 500%. The largest compliant encryption exchange in the United States pointed out that on November 7, the trading volume of Zcash futures approached $10 billion, and derivative platforms also reported an increase in open interest, with traders flocking to the market.

Off the exchange, community data from X and Reddit shows that mentions of Zcash have also experienced similar growth. In summary, November is the month when Zcash re-enters the retail market's view. This transformation from obscurity to the highest search volume has become one of the most striking narrative reversals in the cryptocurrency market for 2025.

Three Major Technological Revolutions Lay the Foundation for the Surge

The surge in November did not come out of nowhere. Over the past two years, Zcash has been quietly reshaping its core values, while most market participants remain oblivious to this. In terms of currency, the most recent Halving occurred on November 23, 2024, reducing the Block Reward from 3.125 ZEC to 1.5625 ZEC, and the daily new issuance decreased from about 3,600 coins to about 1,800 coins.

Due to the fixed supply of 21 million ZEC and the tighter halving cycle after the Blossom update, some members of the community have begun to discuss ZEC using the term “sound money.” This narrative shift connects Zcash to Bitcoin's scarcity model and provides a new anchor for value storage discourse. Halving events often become significant catalysts in the crypto market as they directly impact the supply-demand balance, and Zcash's halving happens to occur during a window of warming market sentiment.

At the underlying level, the actual usage situation is also changing. Research from the largest compliance cryptocurrency exchange in the United States indicates that the amount of ZEC stored in shielded addresses has risen from approximately 1.7 million coins to about 4.5 million coins over the past year, with more than 1 million ZEC flowing into the shielded pool in just three weeks. Overall, more than 27% of the circulating supply is currently in a shielded state, and other tracking data show that the peak of the shielded supply once briefly exceeded 5 million coins.

This surge in shielded usage indicates that users are not just trading the tokens themselves, but are genuinely utilizing Zcash's core privacy features. The blockchain was launched in 2016, employing a Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism similar to Bitcoin, with a cap of 21 million coins, centered around cutting-edge zero-knowledge proof technology. These technologies allow users to send transparent transactions similar to Bitcoin or send fully shielded transactions—in which the amounts and addresses are concealed, yet can still be verified through mathematical methods.

At the same time, the new funding and governance structure has officially launched. The NU6.1 version upgrade will activate on November 24, 2025, allocating 8% of the Block Reward to community funding and 12% to a fund controlled by token holders. This gives ZEC holders a formal voice in the allocation of millions of dollars in development funds before the next Halving in 2028. This governance reset addresses long-standing criticisms regarding the transparency of Zcash funding and community engagement.

Three Pillars of Zcash Technological Transformation

2024 Halving: The supply growth will be halved, with the daily issuance decreasing from 3600 coins to 1800 coins, reinforcing the scarcity narrative.

Shielded Usage Surge: 4.5 million ZEC entered the shielded pool, accounting for 27% of the circulating supply, proving the actual privacy demand.

NU6.1 Governance Upgrade: Token holders control millions of dollars in development funds, enhancing community decision-making power and transparency.

Catalytic Effects of Privacy Revival and Monero Vulnerabilities

The trigger for all of this is the combination of narrative style and timing. After a highly publicized vulnerability incident involving Monero, privacy issues became a focal point again, shaking people's confidence in the industry's default choices. Commentators began to look for an alternative with a proactive governance mechanism and a clear upgrade path. With the planned network updates underway and the Halving event looming, Zcash appears to be a candidate to fill this gap.

As regulatory agencies strengthen their scrutiny of privacy coins, several large exchanges have delisted or restricted trading of them, making Monero the top choice for hardcore privacy users. However, the vulnerability incident of Monero changed this landscape. When the market began to question the security of the “completely opaque” model, Zcash's optional privacy design suddenly became very attractive.

At the same time, regulators are continuing to strengthen oversight of opaque capital flows. The new anti-money laundering (AML) rules, stricter enforcement of travel rules, and more rigorous scrutiny of mixers make the “completely opaque” model harder to justify, while Zcash's optional privacy and auditable view key model seems more aligned with the compliance-focused requirements of institutions.

Electric Coin Company commissioned Rand Europe to conduct research on the criminal uses of Zcash. Researchers found that the usage of ZEC on the dark web is very low, and Bitcoin remains the primary currency for illegal activities. This relatively clean record provides empirical support for positioning Zcash as a “responsible” privacy coin. The competitors' missteps, the return of the theme, and the protocols that can be positioned as a “responsible” privacy coin bring a whole new story to ZEC, while traders are looking for the next major event.

Is it a pump peak or a value reassessment? Market opinions are divided

Looking at the chart, it is easy to see that this is a round of explosive growth. From late September to early November, the price of ZEC rose from the mid-70s to over 700 dollars, and then fell back about 30% from the local high. For those who have experienced previous altcoin booms, these indicators typically appear during periods of intense speculative positions. On November 7th, the trading volume approached 10 billion dollars, and the madness of derivatives is evident.

However, some believe that the price increase in November is more like a price adjustment rather than a pure frenzy surge. Due to the Halving plan in 2024, the supply growth has already been halved, and the usage of protective masks accounts for more than a quarter of the circulating supply. Additionally, NU6.1 introduced a clearer and more transparent financing model in the next Halving cycle. If these fundamentals remain unchanged, some analysts believe that any sharp pullback could represent a reset of prices within a higher range.

Zcash's founder Zooko Wilcox is a seasoned crypto punk who was involved in the development of DigiCash in the 1990s. For a time, Zcash was regarded as a “costly scientific project” and received support from heavyweight cryptographers and privacy advocates. This technical pedigree and long-standing reputation provide the project with a value foundation different from purely speculative meme coins.

The market often rediscovers assets that can quietly improve their economic efficiency, strengthen corporate governance, and wait for suitable macroeconomic factors to take effect. For readers, searching for data on exchanges is a useful early signal of the shift in focus for retail, but it often coincides with the peak of fear of missing out (FOMO). Various themes in the cryptocurrency space never truly disappear; they simply cycle.