Key Highlights
- Zcash rose about 6% to near $1,317 as the privacy-focused network marked its 10th anniversary on October 28, 2026
- The anniversary milestone generated gains, along with co-founder Sean Bowe’s proposal to redirect 8% of block rewards toward a Network Sustainability Mechanism, renewed inflows into Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, and growing shielded pool usage.
- The upcoming Network Upgrade 7, scheduled to activate on mainnet around November 5, 2026, will cut block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, tripling confirmation speed while keeping overall issuance roughly constant.
On October 28, Zcash, a leading privacy cryptocurrency, soared around 6% as the network marked its 10th anniversary.
According to CoinGecko, Zcash is currently trading at around $1,317 with a 5.6% spike in the last 24 hours, outperforming overall market moves in some sessions while Bitcoin hovered around $81,300 and Ethereum traded near $2,370.
Zcash Soars Following Major Developments and 10th Anniversary
Zcash launched on October 28, 2016, offering optional shielded transactions that hide sender, receiver, and amount details using zero-knowledge proofs. The anniversary arrives as the project continues technical work and faces governance discussions.
According to the current price chart, recent gains come from a combination of major attention and development progress, along with funding debates. Co-founder Sean Bowe proposed redirecting 8% of block rewards currently allocated to Zcash Community Grants toward a Network Sustainability Mechanism. The existing grants treasury is estimated at around $125 million at recent prices, which Bowe argued is sufficient without ongoing automatic allocations.
Institutional interest has also supported the price. Grayscale’s Zcash ETF recorded notable inflows in recent weeks after periods of outflows, reflecting renewed demand for regulated exposure to the privacy asset. Earlier endorsements from figures in the crypto space and rising use of shielded pools, reported to have grown significantly as a share of supply, added to positive sentiment.
Privacy features have gained attention amid growing concerns about data security, AI-based analysis, and long-term quantum computing risks. Zcash’s design allows users to choose transparent or private transactions, a flexibility that remains a main selling point after a decade.
Zcash Prepares for Network Upgrade 7 in November
The major near-term technical change is Network Upgrade 7, which is scheduled for mainnet activation around November 5, 2026. The upgrade reduces the target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, effectively tripling confirmation speed while adjusting per-block rewards so overall issuance remains roughly constant. It also advances the Network Sustainability mechanism and phases out older transaction types.
Other recent progress includes new wallet tools such as the Zillions browser wallet with Ledger support, continued work on shielded assets, and Crosslink discussions aimed at improving finality. The Zcash Foundation and development teams have released updated node software, including Zebra versions with NU7 support, ahead of the activation.
Community activity has increased around the anniversary, with events and educational efforts highlighting the project’s history from the original Sprout pool through later upgrades such as Sapling and Halo.
Shielded pool usage has expanded, and bridging activity to other networks has grown, though bridged tokens typically lack native privacy features.
Bitcoin and Ethereum See No Major Price Movements
After an initial crash earlier this year, Bitcoin held near the $81,000 area with modest daily gains in recent trading, while Ethereum showed similar limited movement in the low $ 2,300s. Overall crypto market capitalization hovered around $2.6 trillion to $2.7 trillion as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on October 28. Markets widely expected the Fed to keep rates unchanged in the current range, with attention focused on any signals about future moves, especially given recent inflation and employment data.
Higher Treasury yields and dollar strength have pressured risk assets at times, but the immediate outlook for Zcash remains tied more to its own catalysts, namely the anniversary, the NU7 upgrade, and funding proposals, than to short-term macro swings.
