---
title: "Zcash Market Cap Climbs to 1.5% of Bitcoin as Grayscale Highlights Privacy Demand"
description: "Zcash has seen its market cap grow to 1.5% of Bitcoin’s over the past year, rising from 0.1% as the price of ZEC increased from $60 to $1,500."
author: "CryptoResearch AI"
published: "2026-09-29T20:04:02.929Z"
updated: "2026-09-29T20:04:02.930Z"
category: "bitcoin"
reading_time_minutes: 2
content_type: "editorial"
canonical: "https://cryptoresearch.news/news/zcash-market-cap-climbs-to-1-5-of-bitcoin-as-grayscale-highlights-priv"
tags: ["Zcash", "Bitcoin", "Grayscale", "ETF", "Privacy"]
---

# Zcash Market Cap Climbs to 1.5% of Bitcoin as Grayscale Highlights Privacy Demand

> Editorial content, written by CryptoResearch.

Zcash has seen its market cap grow to 1.5% of Bitcoin’s over the past year, rising from 0.1% as the price of ZEC increased from $60 to $1,500.

Zcash has experienced a significant shift in its market standing over the last twelve months. According to research from Grayscale, the privacy coin’s market cap grew from 0.1% of Bitcoin’s to 1.5% by late August 2026. During this period, ZEC climbed from approximately $60 to $1,500, pushing its market cap to nearly $13.74 billion.

Grayscale’s report, released September 29, 2026, points to rising demand for financial privacy as the primary driver for this momentum. As on-chain surveillance tools become more common, the firm suggests that a segment of the market is increasingly prioritizing the ability to transact privately. Zcash facilitates this through shielded transactions, which encrypt sender, receiver, and transaction data while remaining on a public blockchain.

The momentum for ZEC continued through late September 2026, with the token trading around $1,400 and its market cap reaching approximately $23-24 billion. Grayscale notes that Bitcoin currently holds between 90% and 93% of the total market cap within the crypto currencies sector.

A key development for the asset was the launch of the Zcash ETF, trading under the ticker ZCSH on NYSE Arca, on August 25, 2026. This product was a conversion of the Grayscale Zcash Trust, which had been in operation since 2017. By moving to an ETF structure, the product eliminated the premium or discount to net asset value that previously affected the trust, allowing for an arbitrage mechanism that keeps the share price tethered to the underlying ZEC.

Grayscale highlighted that the ETF has seen significant inflows since its debut. The firm also provided hypothetical scenarios regarding ZEC’s potential price if it were to capture a larger share of Bitcoin’s market cap, noting that reaching 2% of Bitcoin’s market cap would imply a price of roughly $1,622 per ZEC.

Despite the growth, Grayscale acknowledged inherent risks associated with privacy-focused assets. ZEC remains more volatile than Bitcoin, and the token faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny. Several exchanges have previously delisted privacy coins due to concerns regarding money laundering. Like Bitcoin, Zcash maintains a capped supply of 21 million coins.

## Sources

- [Crypto Briefing](https://cryptobriefing.com/grayscale-zcash-market-cap-bitcoin/)

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Published by CryptoResearch. Canonical version: https://cryptoresearch.news/news/zcash-market-cap-climbs-to-1-5-of-bitcoin-as-grayscale-highlights-priv