大零币暴涨182%至417美元：专家称隐私优势或将超越比特币

Zcash (ZEC) experienced a record-breaking rally in October, surging over 182% from below $80 to $417 as of this writing, with its market cap hitting $6.44 billion to officially overtake Monero as the leading privacy coin.

This rally is not pure speculation—Zcash’s shielded wallet activity has surged dramatically, with the shielded pool nearing a historic 4.9 million ZEC. More provocatively, experts including Edward Snowden argue that Zcash could replace Bitcoin due to its built-in privacy mechanisms.

While this claim sparks fierce debate, Zcash’s similar economic structure to Bitcoin (fixed 21 million supply, identical halving schedule) combined with superior privacy protections is reshaping the cryptocurrency market landscape.

Zcash Dominates $55 Billion Privacy Coin Market

According to CoinMarketCap data, the total market cap of all privacy coins combined currently amounts to $55 billion. Zcash is now leading other privacy coins with a market cap of $6.44 billion, establishing itself as the absolute leader in this sector. This market position was not achieved overnight but is based on continuous breakthroughs in Zcash’s technical architecture and practical applications.

Zcash experienced a price breakout in late October. ZEC, which started below $80 in early October 2025, has exploded by over 182% in the past month. As of this writing, ZEC trades at $417, up 2.57%, successfully flipping Monero (XMR), which is valued at $350.57. Notably, Zcash and other privacy coins rallied higher despite the October 10 crash that began after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on China.

This resilience in extreme market conditions demonstrates that Zcash’s rally is not merely following market sentiment but is supported by substantial fundamentals. From $80 at the start of the month to the current $417, this surge has attracted significant attention from privacy-focused traders and long-term investors. Meanwhile, Zcash’s leading position in the privacy coin market reflects growing demand for genuine decentralized privacy solutions.

The $55 billion total privacy coin market cap represents a significant portion of the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, highlighting that privacy is not a niche concern but a mainstream demand. Within this market, Zcash’s $6.44 billion market cap gives it commanding influence, positioning it as the benchmark against which other privacy solutions are measured.

Shielded Pool Hits All-Time High Strengthening Privacy

As explained in our last analysis, the privacy trend is not just based on speculation. Zcash has drawn renewed interest from privacy-focused traders following a sharp increase in shielded wallet activity. Crypto traders are increasingly shifting their attention toward projects like Zcash that are building zero-knowledge systems powered by real incentives.

All transactions sent between shielded addresses are added to a pool for privately transacted coins. As that pool grows, the anonymity set of the network expands, strengthening the privacy guarantees for users. The shielded pool is now the largest it has ever been, closing in on 4.9 million ZEC. This figure itself serves as a critical network effect indicator, because the larger the shielded pool, the stronger the privacy of individual transactions, with the difficulty of tracing specific transactions increasing exponentially.

The shielded pool mechanism is the core of Zcash’s privacy technology. When users choose to transact using shielded addresses, transaction details—including sender, receiver, and amount—are encrypted. These encrypted transactions are mixed in a massive pool, making it impossible for external observers to track fund flows. A shielded pool of 4.9 million ZEC means any attempt to de-anonymize transactions faces nearly impossible computational challenges.

To kick off November, Zcash developer Electric Coin Company (ECC) introduced new features in its Zashi wallet. In our last update, we examined that the new features allow users to perform cross-chain swaps. It also permits private payments through an integration with Near’s Intents system. This combination of cross-chain interoperability and privacy protection opens broader application scenarios for Zcash, expanding from pure value storage to practical daily payments and DeFi applications.

The growth of the shielded pool is not just a technical metric but reflects actual user demand. Unlike many blockchain projects where usage metrics can be artificially inflated, the shielded pool represents real economic activity where users are actively choosing privacy. This organic growth validates that Zcash’s privacy features address a genuine market need rather than serving as mere marketing claims.

Zcash’s Striking Similarities to Bitcoin

The rise of Zcash has led many analysts to draw comparisons with Bitcoin. Some have argued that Zcash could eventually “replace” Bitcoin. This view is not unfounded, as Zcash and Bitcoin have remarkably similar economic structures. Zcash developers created the token from the original Bitcoin code, meaning both share the same genetic foundation in their underlying architecture.

More importantly, Zcash has a fixed 21 million token supply and a similar halving timetable, mirroring that of Bitcoin. This design ensures that Zcash possesses the same scarcity and deflationary characteristics as Bitcoin. The halving mechanism means that over time, the number of newly issued ZEC will gradually decrease, creating long-term supply-side pressure. This economic model has been validated over Bitcoin’s decade-plus history, proven effective in maintaining long-term value.

However, Zcash supporters claim the token stands out against Bitcoin due to its privacy features. They emphasized these privacy features, integrated directly into the Zcash protocol, to let users maintain confidentiality. In contrast, the Bitcoin blockchain is relatively more transparent. Every wallet address, transaction, and amount transferred is permanently visible on the public ledger. Anyone can track Bitcoin flowing from one address to another, and although addresses themselves are not necessarily directly linked to real identities, de-anonymization becomes increasingly easy through the combination of on-chain analysis and exchange KYC data.

This transparency was viewed as a feature when Bitcoin was created, as it ensured system auditability and prevented double-spending. However, with advances in blockchain analysis tools and increasing regulatory pressure, Bitcoin’s transparency has begun to be seen as a potential weakness. For users who value financial privacy, having every transaction permanently recorded on a public ledger means their financial history can be tracked and analyzed by any entity with sufficient resources.

The economic similarity between Zcash and Bitcoin creates a fascinating dynamic. If both tokens share the same supply mechanics and issuance schedule, the differentiating factor becomes functionality. Zcash essentially asks: would you prefer sound money with transparency, or sound money with privacy? This positioning directly challenges Bitcoin’s value proposition by offering an enhanced alternative rather than a completely different approach.

Snowden and Experts Warn Bitcoin Era May Be Ending

Edward Snowden said the Bitcoin weakness is its lack of privacy. He noted that this is a potential reason for failure. As the world’s most prominent privacy advocate and former NSA contractor, Snowden’s perspective carries significant weight in the cryptocurrency community. His warning is not alarmist but based on deep understanding of surveillance technology and blockchain analysis capabilities.

Snowden believes that as governments and corporations wield increasingly sophisticated blockchain analysis tools, Bitcoin users’ privacy faces unprecedented threats. This threat comes not only from technical tracking but also from legal and regulatory pressure. When exchanges are required to provide user KYC information, linking Bitcoin addresses to real identities becomes trivial, exposing entire transaction histories.

Thor Torrens also warned that the Bitcoin era may be nearing its end. Torrens argued that privacy features must be integrated into the base layer of a layer-1 blockchain from the outset. He believes Bitcoin can no longer do this, paving the way for Zcash to take the number 1 spot. Torrens’ argument is based on a technical reality: adding base-layer privacy features to a blockchain that has been running for over a decade is nearly impossible, requiring a hard fork and network-wide consensus, and the Bitcoin community has historically been conservative about fundamental protocol changes.

These expert opinions reflect strong confidence in Zcash, but its potential to replace Bitcoin remains a subject of debate. Over the past decade, Bitcoin has solidified its role as the leading store-of-value asset. Bitcoin’s network effects, brand recognition, institutional adoption, and market liquidity far exceed any other cryptocurrency. Even if Zcash holds technical advantages, challenging Bitcoin’s dominance requires crossing an enormous chasm.

The debate ultimately centers on whether privacy will become a critical feature or remain optional. Snowden and Torrens argue that in an increasingly surveilled world, privacy will transition from luxury to necessity. If they are correct, Zcash’s built-in privacy could become its decisive competitive advantage over Bitcoin’s transparent architecture.

Challenges and Opportunities Coexist

Despite Zcash demonstrating strong technical advantages and market momentum, truly replacing Bitcoin still faces numerous challenges. First is regulatory risk. Privacy coins have always been a focus for global regulators, and many exchanges have delisted privacy coins under regulatory pressure. Zcash must find ways to cooperate with regulators while maintaining privacy features.

Second is the network effect gap. Bitcoin has the largest miner network, deepest liquidity, and broadest institutional support. While Zcash may be technically more advanced, attracting sufficient users and developers to migrate to its ecosystem requires time and sustained effort. Third is education cost. Most cryptocurrency users are accustomed to Bitcoin’s transparent model, and convincing them to switch to a privacy-first alternative requires extensive education and marketing.

However, opportunities are equally evident. As global attention to digital privacy continues rising, and with potential privacy threats from central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), demand for truly private value storage and transaction tools is growing. Zcash’s shielded pool reaching all-time highs reflects this actual manifestation of demand. Additionally, Zashi wallet’s cross-chain functionality and DeFi ecosystem integration open new application scenarios for Zcash, no longer limited to simple value transfer.