Zcash (ZEC) hit $642.18 on May 9, 2026, marking the peak of a 650-1,000% rally from 2024 lows that crowned it the largest privacy coin by market cap, overtaking Monero.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence has published research revealing that it has successfully labeled more than half of all Zcash transaction activity — attributing $420 billion in volume to known individuals and institutions — a finding that strikes at the core value proposition of a cryptocurrency explicitly designed to make financial transactions invisible.
Zcash, known and promoted as one of the most private cryptocurrencies, was called into question after Arkham demonstrated how to track its transactions. More than half of the activity on the network can be linked to identified organizations, individuals or entities, according to Arkham Intelligence's analysis.
The foundation of Zcash's identity is privacy. Zcash introduced shielded transactions, which completely hide the sender, recipient, and transaction amount, in contrast to Bitcoin, where every wallet movement is permanently visible on-chain.
ZEC price momentum accelerates while Alphractal flags weakening network activity trends
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The CMF was below -0.05, which was a minor worry for the bulls, but the RSI remained above neutral 50.
Midnight (NIGHT) surged 5.64% to $0.0326, topping the gainers list, while Zcash (ZEC) fell 9.52% to $593.99, leading the losers.
A Hyperliquid trader known as ‘Evaded' has booked over $7.5 million in profit from two positions in less than four days, most recently rolling back into the market with a $38.63 million ether long carrying 25x leverage. ZEC and HYPE Gains Turn Into a $38.
Zcash has activated the NU7 testnet, introducing faster block times that reduce transaction confirmations from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The upgrade also implements a new fee model designed to limit spam attacks while supporting miner incentives through the Network Sustainability Mechanism.
The Zcash upgrade roadmap includes three advances targeting a 300% speed boost as ZEC gained 73% in a month. The Zcash Foundation outlined a three-pronged technical roadmap building toward NU7, its ninth planned network upgrade.
Zcash (ZEC) is preparing for a radical acceleration, as the long-awaited Network Upgrade 7 (NU7) has been launched on testnet. The main feature of the upgrade is a threefold reduction in block generation time, from 75 to 25 seconds, along with a twofold increase in network throughput.