Key Takeaways

• Zcash has changed the way its nodes work as it builds towards transitioning to Proof-of-Stake.
• The ZEC coin has had a rough time over the last two years or so.
• Will ZEC ever break past $100?
• ZEC is predicted to be worth over $50 in 2 years time

The Zcash  privacy coin has had a poor couple of years, but investors will hope recent news can help turn things around. 

The platform announced that it would be changing the way that the computers, or nodes, which help power the blockchain work. It said  it would now operate on a system called Zebra. 

However, the market has, so far, had a mixed reaction to the news. The blockchain’s ZEC coin has fluctuated over the last month or so. 

On September 20, the Coinbase exchange had to take action after one mining pool took control of more than 50% of Zcash’s computational power, or hash rate.

Zcash did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But what is Zcash (ZEC)? How does Zcash work? Let’s see what we can find out, and also take a look at some of the Zcash Price Predictions that were being made as of September 20 2023.

Zcash Coin Price Prediction

Let’s examine some of the Zcash price predictions being made on September 20 2023. 

First, CoinCodex  had a Zcash price prediction that said that ZEC would drop to $24.31 by August 26 and continue its decline to trade at $22.42 on October 20. The site’s technical analysis was bearish, with 16 indicators sending discouraging signals and 13 making bullish ones. 

Zcash Price Prediction for 2023

DigitalCoinPrice  said Zcash would reach $55.44 this year. CaptainAltCoin  said it would drop to $13.31 in December. PricePrediction.net  thought ZEC would trade at $33.66 in 2023.

Zcash Price Prediction for 2025

CaptainAltCoin said that ZEC would trade at $52.78 in 2025, while PricePrediction.net had it at $71.76. DigitalCoinPrice had a Zcash price forecast that saw the coin trade at $87.21 in two years time. 

Zcash Price Prediction for 2030

Moving on to a more long-term Zcash price prediction, Bitnation  thought it could reach $220.82 in 2030. PricePrediction.net thought it would stand at $429.92. DigitalCoinPrice said ZEC would be worth $264.71 by the start of the next decade. 

It is crucial to bear in mind that price forecasts, particularly for a potentially volatile asset like cryptocurrency, often turn out to be inaccurate. Additionally, please remember that many long-term crypto price predictions are generated using algorithms, which means they can change at any time.

Recent Updates from Zcash

On September 20 2023, Coinbase announced that the ViaBTC mining pool controlled 53% of Zcash’s hash rate. As a result, the exchange increased the amount of time it took to confirm a deposit from around 40 minutes to two-and-a-half hours. It also ensured traders could not place any market bids for ZEC, and contacted Zcash’s founders, the Electric Coin Company, and ViaBTC.

Coinbase said  in a blog post: “To protect our users, Coinbase increased our Zcash network confirmation requirement, moved our Zcash trading markets into limit-only mode, and engaged directly with the Zcash team and mining pool operator to mitigate potential risks to the broader community.”

ZEC Price History

Now, let’s examine some of the highlights and lowlights of the Zcash price history . While we should never take past performance as an indicator of future results, knowing what the coin has achieved can provide us with some very useful context if we want to make or interpret a Zcash price prediction.

ZCash first came onto the open market in the autumn of 2016. The coin was valued at an all-time high of $5,941.80 on October 29 that year. After that, though, it fell. The crypto bubble of late 2017 and early 2018 saw ZEC break past $700 in January 2018. After that, its price dropped and it spent much of the next three years under $100. 

Early 2021 saw the crypto market flourish, and ZEC responded well. The crypto broke past $300 in May. It then went down and closed the year at $143.60.

2022 was a year that saw both Zcash and the overall crypto market struggle. A series of market crashes saw the price sink. At the close of play on December 31, it was worth $37.34. This represented an annual loss of nearly 75%. 

ZCash in 2023

So far, 2023 has been another weak year for Zcash. Although it initially rose to a high of $51.14 on February 20, it was unable to keep up. ZEC reached a nadir of $23.20 on June 10. This happened after Crypto.com announced it had suspended its US institutional operations. In turn, this followed the news that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was suing the Binance and Coinbase crypto exchanges. 

There was some recovery after this. ZEC managed to reach $34.59 on June 30, but has been in decline since then, sinking to a low of $24.04 on September 11. The middle of September saw a small recovery and, on September 20 2023, the coin was worth about $26. 

At that time, there were 16,328,269 ZEC in circulation, representing the total supply. This gave the coin market cap of about $405 million, making it the 81st largest crypto by that metric. 

Zcash Price Analysis

ZEC traded at around $25 in February 2017 and, interestingly enough, has seen that price as a kind of base for its movements. Whether it was in the bear cycle that followed its all-time high in January 2018 or more recently, that has been, to use the jargon, Zcash’s support level. 

In fact, in recent weeks the coin has been around that price. If we look at the chart above, we can see a downward trendline from its record high that meets up with $25. 

ZCash needs to break above this trendline if it is to have any hope of starting a new bull cycle.

The above chart shows ZEC fell from August 2022, reaching the $25 zone in June this year. While there was some recovery, it dropped back to $25 in the middle of August this year. 

Zcash needs to climb above the trendline. So long as it doesn’t go too far below $25, this could happen soon. It is entirely possible that ZEC could reach $80 at some point in the relatively-near future. Not only that, but if it continues to climb from there, anything is possible, given time.

Is Zcash a Good Investment?

It is hard to say. While there is a theory that you should buy during the dip, we don’t know when Zcash’s dip will end, nor where it will get to.

Although the platform will move to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism at some point, we still don’t know when. Keep in mind, too, that when Ethereum (ETH) underwent its change from PoW to PoS last year, its price barely moved. One might think that if a giant such as Ethereum did not benefit too much from a change, there is little hope for a smaller coin.

On the other hand, Zcash does have an active community base and comparatively transparent management. This means that there is some potential for growth. 

As ever with crypto, you will need to make sure you do your own research before deciding whether or not to invest in ZEC.

Will Zcash go up or down?

No one can really tell right now. While the Zcash crypto price predictions are largely positive, price predictions have a well-earned reputation for being wrong. Keep in mind, too, that prices can, and do, go down as well as up. 

Should I invest in Zcash?

Before you decide whether or not to invest in Zcash, you will have to do your own research, not only on ZEC, but on other, related, coins and tokens such as Monero (XMR). Either way, you will also need to make sure that you never invest more money than you can afford to lose.

From the Whitepaper

In its technical documentation, or whitepaper , ZCash says it is designed to improve blockchain finance privacy. It says: “Zcash is an implementation of the Decentralized Anonymous Payment scheme Zerocash, with security fixes and improvements to performance and functionality. It bridges the existing transparent payment scheme used by Bitcoin with a shielded payment scheme, secured by zero-knowledge succinct arguments of knowledge (zk-SNARKs).”

Zcash (ZEC) Explained

Zcash is a privacy coin, ultimately based on Bitcoin (BTC). The idea is that people who hold the coin are able to have their transactions encrypted, which offers a level of privacy that many other blockchains do not have. 

Computer scientist Matthew Green led the team that founded the platform in 2013. Computer security specialist Zooko Wilcox helped turn the theory into a reality, and ZEC itself came out in 2016. 

ZCash is supported by its eponymous coin, known by the ticker handle ZEC. 

How Zcash Works

ZCash uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. This means that people add blocks to the blockchain and verify transactions by solving a series of increasingly complex mathematical equations. However, there are plans to change it to a Proof-of-Stake mechanism. This means people will be selected to add blocks based on how much ZEC they hold. 

Zcash uses something called Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge, or zk-SNARKs, to help protect people’s privacy. Zk-SNARKs show that a transaction is valid without revealing anyone’s addresses or how much has been sent. 

In terms of ZEC itself, it is used to pay for transactions on the network. People can also buy, sell, and trade Zcash on exchanges. 

FAQs 

How many Zcash are there?

On September 20 2023 there were 16,328,269 ZEC in circulation, representing the total supply.

Will Zcash reach $100?

It might do. PricePrediction.net, Bitnation and DigitalCoinPrice all say it can get to three figures in 2026.

Keep in mind that ZEC has not traded at $100 since May 2022. 

What is Zcash used for?

The ZEC coin pays for transactions on the Zcash blockchain. People can also buy, sell, and trade ZEC on exchanges. 

Further reading

Ark Price Prediction 2023: What is ARK?

Kaspa Price Prediction 2023: What is Kaspa (KAS)?

Hifi Finance Price Prediction 2023: What is Hifi Finance (HIFI)?

Disclaimer 

Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.