TLDR
- Zcash shielded pool holds over 4.5 million ZEC, about 27.5% of its circulating supply.
- Around 1 million ZEC were shielded in just three weeks during a sharp price surge.
- Shielded coins are typically held long-term, reducing active supply in the market.
- ZEC price predictions suggest bullish trends as privacy adoption increases.
Zcash, once seen as a niche privacy coin, has drawn renewed attention after reaching a major privacy milestone. More than 4.5 million ZEC are now stored in its shielded pool, representing around 27.5% of the total circulating supply. This shift happened rapidly, with roughly 1 million ZEC moved into shielded addresses in just three weeks. At the same time, ZEC’s price increased fivefold, raising questions about what this activity could mean for the market.
Shielding Activity Suggests Long-Term Holding Over Trading
Shielding is the process of moving coins from transparent addresses (t-addresses) to shielded ones (z-addresses or u-addresses). This action hides details such as sender, receiver, and amount. Zcash uses zk-SNARK cryptography to ensure transaction privacy while keeping the network auditable.
CoinMetrics data confirms that more users are shielding their holdings instead of selling them on exchanges. This trend suggests a shift in behavior compared to typical market reactions during a price surge. Josh Swihart, CEO of Electric Coin Co., said, “Those who shield their ZEC don’t sell.” This comment reinforces the idea that these users are not acting on short-term speculation.
Drop in Circulating Supply Could Affect Market Dynamics
The total circulating supply of ZEC is 16.34 million, according to CoinGecko. With over 4.5 million ZEC now shielded, a large portion of the supply is less likely to be traded soon. Shielded coins are harder to move quickly compared to those on public exchanges, which may limit the active supply available.
This reduction in supply during rising demand can influence pricing. Victor, a developer working in the Zcash ecosystem, described the trend as a real change in user behavior. He stated, “Normal crypto behavior: pump → exchange → dump. Zcash behavior: pump → shield → zodl.” This shift may indicate deeper interest in privacy use rather than short-term profit seeking.
Price Outlook Gains Interest from Analysts and Traders
Several analysts now monitor the Zcash market closely. A report from BeInCrypto noted that some forecasts expect ZEC to climb well beyond $60,000, though such predictions remain speculative. On the Myriad prediction platform, users are placing bets on ZEC reaching $300 before November. At the time of reporting, those odds were estimated at 69%.
While these numbers remain projections, they reflect renewed confidence from some parts of the market. The consistent growth of the shielded pool adds a new layer to ZEC’s price narrative, as users continue to opt for privacy amid wider market uncertainty.
Privacy Adoption Is Driving Utility Over Speculation
The rise in shielded coins may reflect deeper trust in privacy features rather than just interest in trading. Zcash is one of the few networks that offers native privacy at the protocol level. Its zk-SNARKs-based model allows private transfers while maintaining auditability for regulatory use cases.
The recent milestone may also indicate that privacy is becoming a key priority for a growing group of users. As more coins are moved into the shielded pool, and with fewer of them returning to transparent addresses, this may influence how ZEC is used and held in the future
