Zcash rose about 20% in 24 hours to trade around $1,338, outpacing every other major cryptocurrency, after Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed that the venture firm invested in the privacy-focused token. The rally coincided with a Federal Reserve rate hike and a $345 million wave of crypto liquidations, of which zcash accounted for $56 million.
Zcash gained about 20% over 24 hours on Thursday, trading around $1,338, after Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed that the firm made an unspecified purchase of ZEC, the privacy-focused token that has been outperforming the broader crypto market.
CoinDesk data put the move even higher, with zcash up more than 17% to nearly $1,358 as of Asian morning hours Thursday. Bitcoin, by contrast, rose just 1% to above $76,400 over the same period.
Paradigm's Matt Huang Backs Zcash
Huang's disclosure came in a Wednesday post on X revealing that Paradigm is an investor in the Zcash Open Development Lab as well as a ZEC token holder. According to Cointelegraph, Huang called Zcash a "private complement to Bitcoin" and backed its inflation-funded developer fund, arguing that long-term funding matters as AI-driven cyber capabilities and quantum computing advance.
He also said he supported combining Zcash coin voting with other forms of governance to reduce unpredictability as a monetary asset. Paradigm's involvement in the Zcash ecosystem predates Thursday's rally: in March, the Zcash Open Development Lab raised more than $25 million in a seed round that included Paradigm, a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures and Winklevoss Capital.
Fed Rate Hike Triggers a $345 Million Liquidation Wave
The Federal Reserve raised its target range by a quarter point to 375 to 400 basis points on Wednesday, its first rate hike of the cycle, after markets had priced the move at roughly 69% going in. The decision then triggered a broad shakeout: 86,816 traders were liquidated over 24 hours for a combined $345 million, per CoinGlass, with shorts making up $208 million against $137 million of longs.
Ether led the liquidations at nearly $89 million, followed by bitcoin at $85 million and zcash at $56 million, with the largest single order an $18 million bitcoin position closed on Hyperliquid.
Privacy Coins Outrun the Broader Market
ZEC's advance has extended its one-month gain to roughly 160%, compared with Bitcoin's 18.2% rise over the same period, according to Coingecko data. Bitcoin.com News reported that the privacy coin sector's aggregate market capitalization jumped more than 7% to $52 billion, even as the wider crypto market rose just 1.3% to $2.7 trillion.
Zcash's market capitalization reached $23.21 billion, extending its lead over rival monero by more than $10 billion, after a community vote cut Zcash's target block time from 75 seconds to 25 while preserving its Bitcoin-style halving schedule.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin.com News
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