Zcash has been on a roller-coaster this season, surging to a November peak of $744 before plunging to about $313 in early December 2025. After a brief rebound above $450, ZEC has slid again and is trading in the low $410s — roughly $417 at the time of writing — as sellers defend the $420 zone and short-term momentum turns bearish. What drove the moves - The November rally was fueled by renewed interest in Zcash’s privacy features (notably shielded transactions) and a string of institutional catalysts, including digital-asset treasuries and ETF filings. - The broader weakness among privacy-focused tokens — exemplified by Midnight’s roughly 25% collapse — has weighed on ZEC along with broader market pressures. Price action and technicals - ZEC has dropped about 5% in the past 24 hours, with trading volume around $588 million over that period. - A breach below the $420 support level has energized bears and pushed bulls further from the $450 mark. Short-term sellers appear to be regaining control, while any return of buying pressure will need to clear $450 (and psychologically $500) to shift momentum back to the upside. Institutional view and longer-term outlook - Grayscale’s 2026 Digital Asset Outlook highlights privacy as a key theme for the coming institutional era, noting that deeper integration of public blockchains into financial systems will likely demand stronger privacy infrastructure. The firm singled out Zcash as a potential beneficiary: “Potential beneficiaries from investor focus on privacy may include Zcash (ZEC), a decentralized digital currency akin to Bitcoin with privacy-preserving features.” - Market estimates cited in the piece put a 12-month base case for ZEC at $1,000, with a bullish scenario reaching $2,000 — although reclaiming the asset’s earlier all-time highs (from 2016) would require broader market tailwinds and sustained adoption. Bottom line In the near term, ZEC is under pressure after losing key support and facing contagion from weakness in other privacy tokens. Over the medium to long term, however, institutional interest in privacy infrastructure could be a tailwind — if macro conditions stabilize and innovation and regulatory clarity continue to advance. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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