# What Happened to Zcash? The 2025 to 2026 Rally and Falls, Dated

> ZEC went from about $75 in Oct 2025 to $1,653 in Sep 2026, with a 72% fall in between. A dated timeline of the rallies, the falls and what caused them.

Source: https://ghostswap.io/what-happened-to-zcash/
Updated: 2026-10-19

General information, not investment advice.

**Quick answer:** Zcash (ZEC) went from about $75 on 1 October 2025 to $1,653 in late September 2026, with a 72% fall in between. The rises came with more shielded use, a US spot ETF from 25 August 2026, more miners and short sellers forced to buy back. The falls came with the exit of its main developer team in January 2026, a counterfeiting flaw found in May 2026 and, in October 2026, a market scare about AI-assisted attacks on wallets. At 18:23 UTC on 15 October 2026, ZEC was $1,227.90, the 10th-largest crypto by market cap (CoinGecko).

## ZEC's price at the turning points

CoinGecko daily prices (00:00 UTC):

| Date | ZEC price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Oct 2025 | $293.10 | |
| 17 Nov 2025 | $697.25 | Up 2.4 times in five weeks |
| 8 Mar 2026 | $197.12 | Down 72% |
| 27 Sep 2026 | $1,653.12 | Up 8.4 times |
| 15 Oct 2026, 18:23 UTC | $1,227.90 | Down about 26% |

Today's price: [Zcash price](/price/zcash/).

## Timeline: October 2025 to October 2026

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 2025 | ZEC trades near $75, after three years mostly between $20 and $80 | The Block |
| 10 Oct 2025 | ZEC rises more than 40% in a day, above $230 for the first time in three years | The Block |
| 29 Oct 2025 | ZEC in shielded (private) addresses reaches 4.5 million | The Block |
| 7 Nov 2025 | Market cap passes $10 billion; ZEC returns to the top 20 | The Block |
| 26 Nov 2025 | Grayscale files to turn its Zcash Trust into an ETF | The Block |
| 7 Jan 2026 | Electric Coin Co.'s entire staff resigns after a dispute with the board of its nonprofit parent, Bootstrap | The Block |
| 9 Mar 2026 | ZODL, formed by the former ECC engineers, announces $25 million in seed funding | The Block |
| 13 Apr 2026 | Foundry launches a Zcash mining pool; it soon holds about 30% of hashrate | CoinDesk |
| 29 May 2026 | A researcher hired by Shielded Labs finds a flaw in the Orchard shielded pool that could allow counterfeit ZEC. It is patched on 1 June; the NU6.2 upgrade makes the fix permanent on 3 June | The Block; z.cash |
| 4 Jun 2026 | ZEC falls 31% in 24 hours, to $409.64 | The Block |
| 28 Jul 2026 | The Ironwood upgrade (NU6.3) adds a new shielded pool; Orchard closes to new deposits | z.cash; CoinDesk |
| 22 Aug 2026 | ZEC nears $850, its highest since 2018 | The Block |
| 25 Aug 2026 | Grayscale's Zcash ETF (ZCSH) starts trading on NYSE Arca, with a 2.5% fee | The Block |
| 4 Sep 2026 | ZEC tops $1,000 for the first time since 2016; $34.5 million of bets against it are closed out | CoinDesk |
| 6 Oct 2026 | A Winklevoss-backed sponsor files for a second spot Zcash ETF (proposed ticker WINK, 0.25% fee); Bitwise has also filed | The Block |
| 7 Oct 2026 | Grayscale says ZCSH gathered more than $1 billion in its first 30 trading days | The Block |
| 8 Oct 2026 | ZEC ends the day near $1,185, down about 11% in a week, after an Ethereum researcher warns of AI-assisted attacks on wallet keys | CoinDesk |

## Why ZEC went up

**October and November 2025.** The Block reported a mix of reasons: debate about financial surveillance in Europe, new wallet support for shielded ZEC and rising volume. More ZEC also moved into shielded addresses, which The Block's analysts read as real use, since holders have to opt in.

**August and September 2026.** Reported reasons:

- **The ETF.** ZCSH let people buy ZEC exposure in an ordinary brokerage account.

- **Short sellers forced out.** On 4 September, $34.5 million of bets on a fall were closed out (CoinDesk).

- **Miners.** Hashrate rose from about 25 GSol/s in late August to briefly above 30 GSol/s (The Block).

## Why ZEC went down

- **November 2025 to March 2026: down 72%.** The fall overlapped with the ECC team's exit in January; no single cause explains it.

- **June 2026: the Orchard flaw.** The flaw had gone unfound since Orchard launched in May 2022. Shielded Labs said exploitation was unlikely but hard to rule out. ZEC fell 31% in 24 hours, and as much as 60% from about $630 to $250 (The Block).

- **Late September to 8 October 2026: down about 28%.** CoinDesk tied the 8 October fall to a warning by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake that AI could speed up attacks on wallet keys. No practical attack has been shown, CoinDesk noted.

## What changed for ZEC holders

- **Orchard and Ironwood.** Orchard no longer takes new deposits, and Ironwood is the new shielded pool. Coins leaving Orchard pass a "turnstile" that lets anyone check ZEC's total supply (z.cash).

- **Who builds Zcash.** Former ECC engineers now work at ZODL. The Zcash Foundation, Zcash Community Grants and Shielded Labs continue.

- **Funding.** Since 24 November 2025, 8% of each block reward goes to Zcash Community Grants and 12% to a coin-holder fund, until the third halving, around November 2028.

- **Transparent coins.** About 70% of ZEC sat in transparent addresses on 8 October 2026 (CoinDesk). The January quantum plan protects those first.

- **EU rules.** From 10 July 2027, EU banks and crypto service providers may not keep accounts that use privacy coins, ZEC included. More: [Will Zcash be banned?](/will-zcash-be-banned/)

## How to get ZEC

- **A regulated exchange** such as Coinbase or Gemini, with a verified account, or **the ZCSH ETF** through a US broker.

- **An instant swap.** On [GhostSwap](/zcash-exchange/) you swap BTC, ETH, USDT or another coin to ZEC with no account, email, sign-up or ID upload. GhostSwap pays ZEC to a transparent address (t1 or t3), so shield it in your wallet after it arrives. Start with [BTC to ZEC](/exchange/btc-zec/), [USDT (ERC20) to ZEC](/exchange/usdt20-zec/), [ETH to ZEC](/exchange/eth-zec/) or [how to buy Zcash](/how-to-buy-zcash/).

## FAQ

### What happened to Zcash?

ZEC rose from about $75 in October 2025 to $1,653 in September 2026, with a 72% fall from November 2025 to March 2026. The rises came with a US ETF, more shielded use and short squeezes; the falls came with a developer exodus, a protocol flaw and an October market scare.

### Why did Zcash drop in October 2026?

It fell about 11% in the week to 8 October, to about $1,185, after a warning that AI could speed up attacks on wallet keys (CoinDesk). That was 28% below its 27 September high.

### Why is Zcash going up?

Reported reasons in 2026: Grayscale's ETF from 25 August, short sellers forced to buy back, more miners and a rebound from the March low. Grayscale says the ETF gathered more than $1 billion in 30 trading days.

### Was Zcash hacked?

A flaw that could have allowed counterfeit ZEC in the Orchard pool was found on 29 May 2026 and fixed by 3 June. Shielded Labs called past exploitation unlikely but hard to rule out.

### Who develops Zcash now?

ZODL (formed by former Electric Coin Co. engineers), the Zcash Foundation, Shielded Labs and teams paid by Zcash Community Grants.

### Has Zcash reached $1,000?

Yes, on 4 September 2026: [Will Zcash reach $1,000?](/will-zcash-reach-1000/) The case for and against holding ZEC: [Is Zcash a good investment?](/is-zcash-a-good-investment/)

## Sources (accessed 11 October 2026)

**Prices:** CoinGecko, Zcash (15 October 2026, 18:23 UTC snapshot) and historical data: [https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zcash](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zcash), [https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zcash/historical_data](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zcash/historical_data)

**The Block**

- ZEC reclaims $200 (10 Oct 2025): [https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2025-10-10-zcash-reclaims-200-level-after-three-years-amid-renewed-interest-in-privacy-coins-374131](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2025-10-10-zcash-reclaims-200-level-after-three-years-amid-renewed-interest-in-privacy-coins-374131)

- Shielded supply 4.5 million ZEC (29 Oct 2025): [https://www.theblock.co/post/376312/zcash-shielded-supply-privacy-token-surges-7x](https://www.theblock.co/post/376312/zcash-shielded-supply-privacy-token-surges-7x)

- ZEC tops $10 billion market cap (7 Nov 2025): [https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2025-11-07-zcash-tops-10-billion-usd-market-cap-378025](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2025-11-07-zcash-tops-10-billion-usd-market-cap-378025)

- Grayscale files for a Zcash ETF (26 Nov 2025): [https://www.theblock.co/post/380559/grayscale-files-with-the-sec-to-launch-first-ever-zcash-etf](https://www.theblock.co/post/380559/grayscale-files-with-the-sec-to-launch-first-ever-zcash-etf)

- ECC staff leave (8 Jan 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/post/384737/zcash-developers-form-new-company](https://www.theblock.co/post/384737/zcash-developers-form-new-company)

- ZODL raises $25 million (9 Mar 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/post/392878/zcash-open-development-lab-raises-25-million-crypto-investors-paradigm-a16z-others](https://www.theblock.co/post/392878/zcash-open-development-lab-raises-25-million-crypto-investors-paradigm-a16z-others)

- Orchard vulnerability (4 Jun 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/post/403698/zcash-vulnerability-zec-drops](https://www.theblock.co/post/403698/zcash-vulnerability-zec-drops)

- Eight-year high near $850 (22 Aug 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-08-22-zcash-hits-eight-year-high-near-850-with-futures-volume-near-10-billion-amid-grayscale-etf-push-412528](https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-08-22-zcash-hits-eight-year-high-near-850-with-futures-volume-near-10-billion-amid-grayscale-etf-push-412528)

- Grayscale ZCSH debut (25 Aug 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-08-25-grayscale-debuts-zcash-etf-412654](https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-08-25-grayscale-debuts-zcash-etf-412654)

- ZEC tops $1,000 (4 Sep 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-09-04-zcash-tops-1000-etf-inflows-ramp-up-miners-pile-in-413580](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-09-04-zcash-tops-1000-etf-inflows-ramp-up-miners-pile-in-413580)

- Winklevoss Zcash ETF filing (6 Oct 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-10-06-winklevoss-files-spot-zcash-etf-wink-417826](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-10-06-winklevoss-files-spot-zcash-etf-wink-417826)

- ZCSH passes $1 billion, per Grayscale (7 Oct 2026): [https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-10-07-grayscale-crypto-etf-market-beyond-bitcoin-ether-417953](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-10-07-grayscale-crypto-etf-market-beyond-bitcoin-ether-417953)

**CoinDesk**

- Foundry Zcash pool (13 Apr 2026): [https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/04/13/foundry-unveils-zcash-block-explorer-as-mining-pool-reaches-30-of-hashrate](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/04/13/foundry-unveils-zcash-block-explorer-as-mining-pool-reaches-30-of-hashrate)

- Ironwood's first day (29 Jul 2026): [https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/07/29/about-usd80-million-zec-crosses-into-zcash-s-new-ironwood-pool-in-the-first-day](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/07/29/about-usd80-million-zec-crosses-into-zcash-s-new-ironwood-pool-in-the-first-day)

- ZEC jumps to $1,000 (4 Sep 2026): [https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/04/zcash-jumps-20-to-landmark-usd1-000-level-as-short-sellers-lose-usd34-million](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/04/zcash-jumps-20-to-landmark-usd1-000-level-as-short-sellers-lose-usd34-million)

- Quantum plan and the 8 Oct fall (9 Oct 2026): [https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/10/09/zcash-developers-set-january-target-for-quantum-resistant-payments-after-bunker-mode-scare](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/10/09/zcash-developers-set-january-target-for-quantum-resistant-payments-after-bunker-mode-scare)

**Zcash project and EU law**

- NU6.1, NU6.2 and NU6.3 upgrade pages: [https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-1/](https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-1/), [https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-2/](https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-2/), [https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-3/](https://z.cash/upgrade/nu6-3/)

- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624: [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1624/oj](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1624/oj)

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