Zcash and Monero Surge as Privacy Coins Rally on ETF and Upgrades
Zcash (ZEC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Privacy-focused digital assets posted notable gains in August, outperforming the broader market amid macroeconomic uncertainty and regulatory scrutiny, according to bitcoinethereumnews.com. Zcash (ZEC) led the sector with an 82% 30-day gain, driven by Grayscale’s launch of a ZEC exchange-traded fund near the month’s end. This ETF provides spot ZEC exposure through a publicly traded vehicle, eliminating the need for investors to manage wallets and private keys directly.
The institutional endorsement lifted ZEC’s market capitalization from approximately $8 billion to over $14 billion. Monero (XMR) also rose, gaining nearly 20% in the last week of August for a total monthly gain of approximately 40%. Its market cap approached $10 billion, boosted by reported upgrades to cross-chain decentralized exchanges like Thorchain, which integrated native swap capabilities for XMR.
Other smaller-cap protocols such as DASH, RAIL, and ZANO also posted double-digit gains, while Beldex and Humanity posted losses. The sector’s momentum faces a dual test of technical development and tightening compliance mandates, including the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework in 2026.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ZEC, measured when this story was written up on 1 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Zcash is trading at $848.10 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 50.8%, indicating that slightly more than half of the volume is coming from buyers. However, the 4-hour buy ratio has dropped to 43.0%, suggesting that buying pressure is fading over a slightly longer timeframe compared to the immediate hour. The 24-hour buy ratio sits at 48.3%, showing a near-even split between buyers and sellers over the full day. Volume delta data reveals a net outflow of -$5,626,238 over 24 hours, meaning sellers have dominated the total volume recently. In plain terms, the buy ratio shows the proportion of trades initiated by buyers, while the volume delta measures the net value of those trades; a negative delta here indicates that selling volume exceeded buying volume. Despite the positive news, the immediate flow shows a shift toward neutral-to-slightly bearish sentiment in the short term.
The latest daily buy ratio of 52.9% sits at the 82nd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 50.2% - stronger buying than most days.
Twenty-four hours later
What ZEC did over the 22 hours after the story broke. The market moves for its own reasons; this is what happened, not what the story caused.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ZEC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the 7-day average buy ratio was 50.5%, which is slightly higher than today’s 24-hour ratio of 48.3%. This indicates that today’s buying activity is 2.1 percentage points below the weekly average, marking a slight deceleration in buyer dominance. Volume over the last day was 1.02 times the weekly average, showing that trading activity is roughly in line with recent norms. While the coin saw a 2.1% price increase over eight days, the total volume delta for that period was -$7,392,800, indicating net selling pressure despite the price rise. This suggests that today’s trading is an ordinary day for the coin, with volume and buy ratios aligning closely with recent historical averages rather than showing an unusual spike or drop.