Whale accumulation and shielded ZEC reduce tradable supply, boosting price.
A technical breakout above $500 signals strong bullish momentum and potential gains.
Arthur Hayes forecasts $1,000 as rising demand and institutional interest grow.
Zcash has seen remarkable momentum in recent months, drawing attention for its unique privacy features and growing institutional interest.
The Zcash price has climbed to $537.45, reflecting a 3.01% gain over the past 24 hours and an impressive 28.5% rise over the past week, fueled by a combination of supply dynamics and renewed investor enthusiasm.
This surge comes amid a broader trend in the crypto market where privacy-focused coins are increasingly viewed as hedges against tightening KYC and AML regulations.
Whales and supply squeeze drive momentum
A major driver behind Zcash’s recent price action is whale accumulation.
The top 100 addresses now control approximately 66% of the total ZEC supply, with large sums being withdrawn from exchanges, including over $31 million worth of ZEC moved off Binance alone.
These off-exchange holdings, combined with the roughly 30% of ZEC locked in shielded addresses, significantly reduce the tradable supply and create a classic supply-demand imbalance.
Analysts note that this thinning liquidity amplifies price swings, meaning even modest buying pressure can have a notable impact on market prices.
The supply squeeze is further intensified by institutional participation.
Reports from Grayscale indicate that Zcash was among the top-performing assets in the fourth quarter of 2025, appreciating nearly 900% since October, as investors increasingly perceive ZEC as a privacy-focused hedge.
The growing adoption of shielded transactions, which now account for roughly 27% of total supply, underscores the token’s role in maintaining confidentiality on the blockchain.
Investors appear to be strategically storing ZEC in private wallets, thereby reducing immediate market availability and setting the stage for continued upward pressure.
Zcash price prediction for January 2026
Alongside supply dynamics, technical indicators suggest strong bullish momentum.
ZEC recently cleared the $500 resistance level, with MACD and RSI values pointing to continued upward potential.
Futures markets reflect active positioning, with open interest rising and funding rates indicating moderate leverage risk.
However, analysts caution that a short-term pullback toward $476 could occur, given the presence of $78 million in potential long liquidations.
A sustained breakthrough above the previous swing high at $554.18 could target the $622 level, highlighting the importance of monitoring both technical and fundamental factors for market participants.
Derivatives activity and active trading metrics also reveal that market sentiment is leaning bullish, although the high leverage present in futures markets introduces volatility risk.
Arthur Hayes predicts Zcash at $1,000
While exchange outflows and strong on-chain adoption of shielded transactions suggest that the upward trajectory is being reinforced by structural factors, prominent figures in the crypto industry are voicing optimistic forecasts for ZEC.
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has predicted that Zcash could reach $1,000, citing growing demand for privacy assets, institutional accumulation, and supply constraints as key factors driving potential price appreciation.
The tears of the bears shall be my sustenance. $ZEC first stop $1k pic.twitter.com/FPCZbNxMTj
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) December 29, 2025
While regulatory uncertainty remains a concern, particularly with global privacy coin oversight evolving, the combination of limited tradable supply, whale accumulation, and sustained investor interest creates a compelling bullish scenario.
However, traders should closely watch to see if ZEC can maintain the $500 support level, which would reinforce confidence in the broader uptrend.
