Bitcoin News Update: Privacy Coins Rally as Institutions Seek Protection from a Future Dominated by Surveillance

Zcash (ZEC) has seen an explosive increase, climbing 472% since well-known Silicon Valley investor Naval Ravikant described it as "insurance against Bitcoin" back in early October. The privacy-centric digital currency is now valued at $420, and the entire privacy coin sector has gained traction as ZEC continues its upward trend. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has further fueled excitement, forecasting that

could soar to $10,000 and calling the surge "unstoppable," as per . The total market value of privacy tokens has grown to $22.7 billion, with ZEC surpassing Monero (XMR) to become the top asset in this category by market capitalization, .

This dramatic rise is the result of several factors, including renewed focus on privacy technology amid worldwide debates on digital surveillance and regulatory measures. Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs), enabling users to make shielded transactions that hide the sender, recipient, and transaction amount. This capability has drawn institutional players such as Grayscale, which currently oversees a $137 million

Trust, according to . The network’s shielded pool has expanded to 4.9 million ZEC, now close to 30% of the total supply, strengthening privacy as the anonymity set grows, .

Hayes’ optimistic outlook has sparked both excitement and doubt. Technical analysts point to ZEC’s breakout from a long-term range and a $529 million open interest in futures, but there are warnings about the asset being overbought. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 79, indicating a possible pullback if the $281.35 support does not hold. Still, supporters believe the rising channel pattern and increasing institutional involvement support the rally. BlackRock’s dominance in

ETF inflows has shifted institutional focus to alternative coins like ZEC, while new ETFs for and are further diversifying crypto investments, as previously mentioned in the Bitget article.

The recent Zcash rally comes ahead of its scheduled halving in November, which will cut block rewards by half, similar to Bitcoin’s scarcity mechanism. This, along with rising concerns about data privacy and regulatory overreach—such as the EU’s debated "chat control" proposal—has made privacy coins a potential safeguard against centralized monitoring. Zcash’s market cap has exceeded $5.6 billion, fueled by a 500% monthly surge and increased trading activity, as Coinotag previously reported.

Despite the bullish sentiment, some warn of a bubble driven by FOMO. Analyst Ignas DeFi compared ZEC’s rapid climb to viral trends, cautioning that orchestrated price pumps could leave late buyers as "exit liquidity." At the same time, regulatory ambiguity remains, with the U.S. Treasury seeking feedback on privacy-enhancing technologies and the EU imposing stricter checks on self-hosted wallet transactions, according to Cointelegraph. Hayes’ history of bold forecasts lends weight to his $10,000 prediction, but reaching that level would demand extraordinary adoption and regulatory approval for privacy coins, as the Bitget article also pointed out.

As the crypto sector faces ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, Zcash’s rise highlights the persistent appetite for financial privacy. With the halving event on the horizon and growing institutional interest, the future of privacy tokens will depend on how innovation and regulatory compliance are balanced in a tightening global environment.