Zcash climbs 18% in 24 hours as governance vote and Grayscale inflows fuel rally past $1,500

Zcash just had the kind of week most altcoins dream about. ZEC blew past $1,500, logging gains north of 18% in a single day, 28% over the past week, and a staggering 193% over the past month. The privacy-focused token’s market capitalization has now surpassed $23 billion, vaulting it into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market size.

The NU7 vote changed everything

The most significant driver appears to be the results of Zcash’s Network Upgrade 7 governance vote, which concluded on September 16. Roughly 2.4 million ZEC participated in the ballot, representing about two-thirds of the eligible supply. The results were overwhelmingly decisive. Approximately 99.9% of participating tokens voted in favor of reduced block times, while 98.9% supported retaining Bitcoin-style halvings as Zcash’s emission schedule going forward. In practical terms, faster block times mean quicker transaction confirmations and a more responsive network. Keeping halvings preserves the deflationary supply mechanics that Bitcoin holders know and love.

Grayscale’s ZCSH ETP is hoovering up demand

Institutional money has been flowing into Zcash through a familiar channel. Grayscale’s ZCSH exchange-traded product, which listed on August 25, managed approximately $727 million in assets by mid-September. That’s a lot of capital accumulated in roughly three weeks.

The Grayscale flows weren’t the only institutional signal. Matt Huang, co-founder of crypto venture giant Paradigm, publicly disclosed the firm’s ZEC holdings around September 16. Huang also voiced support for developer funding within the Zcash ecosystem.

Macro winds are blowing in the right direction

The Federal Reserve executed its first interest rate hike since 2023. The rate decision triggered a wave of short liquidations in crypto derivatives markets. Traders who had positioned for downside got squeezed, and forced buying amplified the upward pressure on tokens like ZEC that were already riding momentum from fundamental catalysts.

ZEC’s price action reflected this compounding effect. The token traded between $1,300 and $1,400 on September 17 before pushing through to exceed $1,500. Reported 24-hour gains ranged from 13% to 23% depending on the measurement window, while monthly returns stretched between 160% and 193%.