Zcash Surges 142% as Grayscale Highlights Volatility and Privacy Risks
Zcash (ZEC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Cryptopotato.com reports that Zcash has risen over 142% in the past month to reach $1,236. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl notes that Zcash’s market cap is only 1% of Bitcoin’s, yet its annualized volatility averages 140%, compared to Bitcoin’s 40%. This disparity makes options a useful tool for risk management and alternative income generation.
Pandl suggests a hypothetical covered call strategy on Zcash could yield an implied income of 70%, significantly higher than Bitcoin’s 30%. However, this higher premium comes with greater risk, as spot price declines can outpace the received premium. Zcash has surged 2,360% over the past year, climbing from 82nd to 10th in market capitalization.
It now accounts for 62% of the privacy sector’s total market value. Pandl also highlights that AI expansion may increase demand for Zcash’s shielded transactions, which hide addresses and transfer amounts. Unlike Bitcoin’s public ledger, Zcash offers these privacy features as financial privacy risks grow.
Pandl previously stated that AI could make it easier to identify people behind blockchain addresses. Investors seeking defined outcomes might prefer long call or put option structures over covered calls.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ZEC, measured when this story was written up on 9 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Zcash is trading at $1,177.82 on Binance spot data, showing a mixed immediate sentiment with a 1-hour buy ratio of 47.6% against a 4-hour ratio of 56.1%. The 24-hour buy ratio sits at 50.3%, indicating a balanced approach to buying pressure over the full day. Volume delta reflects this balance, with a negative $1,236,036 in the last hour contrasting a positive $10,308,877 over four hours. The cumulative volume delta for the 24-hour period is +$14,219,180, showing net buying pressure has accumulated over the day. A buy ratio above 50% indicates more volume is being executed at the ask price, signaling buyers are willing to pay the current market price. Conversely, a negative volume delta in the short term suggests a brief period where sell volume exceeded buy volume.
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.
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 average buy ratio was 50.0%, with the latest day showing a slight increase of 0.3 percentage points. Weekly volume was 0.92x the average, indicating slightly lower trading activity compared to the recent norm. The price changed by +41.9% over eight days, driven by a total volume delta of +$11,248,588. Net buying occurred on 3 of the 7 days in the preceding week. This suggests that while the coin has seen substantial price growth, the daily trading rhythm remains relatively consistent with its recent weekly average.