ZCash price performance for the past two years has been rather depressing. In the first five months of 2021, however, ZCash charts grew livelier and even confirmed a possible bull run when the altcoin shot above $370 – for the first time in three years. But how can the privacy-oriented coin reclaim the price uptrend, and more importantly, how high up can its value rise?
Crypto market experts and investors alike have weighed in on the coin’s outlook and made several ZCash price predictions for the year and near future. Most expect this uptrend to return and carry the ZEC coin to new hand record-setting price levels by the end of the year or in the foreseeable future.
Bin this guide, we look at the ZEC price predictions made by different crypto experts. But first, we try to understand what it ZCash and what sets it apart from the competition. We also look at how it works, where you can get it, and vet its use.
Importantly, this guide goes over the ZCash price history before looking at the possible future price performances as analyzed by the different crypto industry experts.
Contents:
ZCash In 2021: Everything You Need To Know About The Recent ZCash Price Surge
ZCash Price History: ZCash Price Performance From 2017 To 2020
ZCash Price Prediction For 2022 – 2023
ZCash Price Prediction For 2024 – 2025 And Beyond
Past ZCash Price Predictions That Came True
The Future Of ZCash: What Are Experts Saying About ZCash Potential Growth?
Bottom Line: Will The Value Of ZCash Rise In The Future?
What Is ZCash?
The ZCash website refers to the ZEC coin as a “digital money… built for internet and mobile transactions.” It is a cryptocurrency and a Bitcoin fork designed to facilitate peer-to-peer payments and borderless cash transfers.
ZCash is specially designed to facilitate anonymous transactions and correct the pseudo-anonymous flaw in the Bitcoin blockchain.
The design and development work for the ZCash cryptocurrency was started in 2013 by Mathew Green, a John Hopkins professor, together with his graduate students.
The project would, however, was completed and launched in 2016 by Zooko Wilcox O-Hearn – a computer security specialist – through ZCash Company. In 2019, ZCash announced its plans to rebrand to Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, LLC (ECC).
A year later, ECC owners announced that they had donated their shares to and the entire ECC Company to a non-profit organization referred to as the Bootstrap Project.
How Does It Work?
Interestingly, ZCash works like and is similar to Bitcoin in more ways than one. For instance, both use the proof of work consensus algorithm, and like Bitcoin, there will only be 21 million Zcash coins ever. They two are also built on an open-sourced code – with the ZCash blockchain borrowing heavily from the Bitcoin source code.
The primary difference between the two is that ZCash guarantees more privacy. In reality, ZCash was born of the need to provide crypto traders and investors a truly anonymous crypto experience and seal the privacy loophole in Bitcoins code.
What does this mean?
While certain aspects of the Bitcoin transactions like the private keys are truly private, others are like the wallet address and some personal information – which are recorded on the public ledgers – are not.
By gaining access to this information and working backwards, one can therefore trace a BTC transaction to a specific wallet address and the address to a specific individual – explaining why BTC is now referred to as a pseudo-anonymous blockchain.
ZCash, on the other hand, privatizes and encrypts all aspects of the transaction – making it impossible for anyone to trace crypto transactions back to you. But to comply with regulatory requirements, ZCash has made it possible for you to make some or all your crypto payments public for purposes of taxation and auditing by disabling the coin’s privacy features.
In making your crypto transactions wholly private, ZCash embraces the Zero-knowledge proof protocol – also known as zk-SNARKS. It masks the ZCash wallet user’s private information, limits the amount of user data that can be traced back to them, and encrypts any of their transaction details recorded on the public ledger.
ZCash Trading And Usage
In every other aspect, save for the privacy guarantee, ZCash is intended to function as Bitcoins – the highly decentralized and fungible digital money. It can and has been used to facilitate cash transactions and cross-border cash transfers.
However, unlike Bitcoin digital currency that has been quickly absorbed by both eCommerce and physical stores across the world, ZCash has had a rough time trying to carve its niche in the industry.
Today, there are two primary ways of acquiring ZCash; by buying the ZEC altcoins at an exchange or by mining the crypto. Currently, the price of one ZEC coin averages $140.
Alternatively, you can start contributing your computer power independently or through a mining group and stand a chance to earn free ZEC every time you confirm a ZCash block. Currently, you earn 3.125 ZEC coins for every confirmed ZCash block.
Some of the popular global currencies where you can buy or sell your ZECs include Binance, OKex, Huobi Global, and HiBTC.
ZCash In 2021: Everything You Need To Know About The Recent ZCash Price Surge
ZCash started the year 2021 on a high. A bullish ZEC coin momentum that had started in the last quarter of 2020 had finally built enough pressure to push the ZEC coin well above the $100 mark for the first time in over 12 months.
In the first week of 2021, the ZCash price averaged $58. Three months and a seemingly bullish crypto market rally later, the value of one ZEC coin has risen – peaking at $370 in mid-May.
One may even consider the first half of 2021 to be the liveliest ZCash price performance has been since 2018. And though the current peak is a far cry from the $5,900 price level hit within weeks of launching the privacy coin or the $900 recorded in January 2018, it says that all is not lost for the altcoin.
But what ignited the 2021 ZCash price rally? What are the forces driving these meek price volatilities, and how far up can they push the ZEC price?
The Bitcoin price rally
Bitcoin and ZCash are – albeit loosely – joined at the hip. They use the same blockchain protocol and are intended to solve the same problem in the world.
As the price of Bitcoin goes up, therefore, so does the price of ZCash as it benefits from the overflow of BTC users looking for the added feature of anonymity when transacting online.
Starting from the last quarter of 2020 and going into 2021, Bitcoin received a lot of attention from the crypto community, which ignited a bull run that helped push the BTC price above $60,000.
Long-term investment appeal
BTC may be the most used cryptocurrency today, but its position is under severe threat, especially when the crypto wave shifts and stops looking at crypto as a store of value but as digital money.
Given the user concerns with BTC’s privacy and scalability, experts believe that ZEC has an upper hand over Bitcoin in the long-run. The realization that the ZEC coin will be more valuable in the future may have also contributed to the upward price burp being experienced by ZCash today.
ZCash halving
On 18th November 2020, ZCash reached block height 1,046,000, which triggered the halving event. The reward for every confirmed block was slashed by half from the previous 6.25 ZEC to the current 3.125 ZEC coins.
Like with any other cryptocurrency, the halving event has triggered a shortage in the supply of ZEC coins, whose net effect is ramped up ZEC coin prices.
Network upgrades
In addition to converting from a for-profit to a non-profit organization, ZCASH has also undertaken several major network upgrades.
The most significant was the introduction of the Canopy upgrade that redirects the Founder’s reward to ZCash development. Previously, miners would receive 80% of their block reward while 20% goes to different parties, including the ZCash founders.
The upgrade does away with the founder’s reward and instead redirects the 20% towards the ZCash foundation. It will, in the future, be used to will be used to fund development and upgrade projects on the ZCash network. Such an upgrade is always welcomed by miners and investors with huge positivity that is, in turn, reflected in the ZCash prices.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
ZCash Price History: ZCash Price Performance From 2017 To 2020
The introductory price for the ZCash coin on 28th October 2016 wand closed the day trading at around $500. By the end of the week, one ZEC coin was trading above $5900. This will also become the highest ZEC coin price on record yet.
In the weeks and months that followed, however, ZEC fortunes started reversing. By the end of the same year, the value of the ZEC coin had plunged as it closed the day trading at $48 on 1st January 2017.
Image: ZCash historical price performance graph - Coinmarketcap.com
2017 was a busy year for the ‘privacy-focused bitcoin fork as it attempted two comeback price rallies. The first started in the first few weeks of May and peaked in June, missing the $400 price level by a whisker. The second came about during the global crypto markets rally that took place in the last quarter of 2017 and pushed ZCash prices to about $800. It was during this time that much of the world was learning about cryptocurrencies.
2018 would then prove to be a tough year for the crypto market, and ZEC coin was no exception. It was during the year that the coin price bottomed, slipping below the $100 mark in November. For the period running into 2019 up to the third quarter of 2020, ZCash prices posted insignificant activity and continued to stagnate below $100.
Some of the negative news and occurrences that hammered the progress of the ZEC coin and stunted its growth during this period include:
Mounting regulation threats
When Bitcoin launched, it faced a lot of silent opposition from authorities, which continues to have a huge impact on its price today.
This opposition went a notch higher when it came to the more private ZCash. In extreme cases, exchanges and were forced to delist the coin from their platforms as a condition for acquiring operating licenses.
Case in point, the Japan-based Liquid.com exchange had to delist ZEC from its platforms to acquire an operating license in Singapore. As this pressure mounted, renowned crypto exchanges like Shapeshift and Bittrex also had to delist ZCash from their platforms citing regulatory compliance.
Debunked privacy claim
For the longest time, ZCash has presented itself as the ‘Private Bitcoin.’ In May 2020, however, an investigative paper titled “Alt-coin traceability” that termed ZCash privacy guarantee “questionable” was published.
The following month, June 2020, Chainalysis published a report claiming that they could trace the receiver and sender addresses for over 99% of ZCash transactions since most users don’t activate all the privacy tools offered by the network. The two papers threatened ZEC coins’ greatest selling point, which translates to low appeal to users, and in effect, dwindling coin prices.
Check Out: What Will Drive The Zcash Price?
ZCash Price Prediction For 2022 – 2023
TradingBeasts
Trading Beasts' proprietary price prediction model hints at stagnating ZCash prices going into 2022 and 2023.
According to the Trading Beasts algorithm, you may expect Zcash (ZEC) coin to start the year 2022 valued at $168.147 and record mediocre price improvements for the 24 months that follow before reporting an average price of $130 in December 2023.
Cryptoground
Cryptoground uses a deep learning algorithm that studies a coin’s historical price performance and uses it to predict its future price.
According to this algorithm, ZCash price is just gathering momentum – and will continue to do so for the better part of 2022 – after which one can expect it to break out into a massive rally from 2023 through to 2026 and beyond.
In 2022, Cryptoground expects the ZEC coin to close the year valued at $57. This value will, however, rise steadily to hit $329 by December 2023.
ZCash Price Prediction For 2024 – 2025 And Beyond
Most investors and price prediction websites are overly bullish about the long-term price performance of the ‘Private Bitcoin’. They believe that as the crypto industry draws in more users and coins go from being tradable instruments or stores of value to being used as digital money, crypto enthusiasts will come to appreciate the importance of privacy, which will, in turn, push the ZEC coin price up.
Here are their ZEC coin price predictions for 2024 and beyond:
Coin Arbitrage
Coin Arbitrage, yet another crypto forecast company that uses technical analysis, is confident that ZCash price will continue increasing – albeit gradually – into the foreseeable future. They, for instance, expect the value of the ZEC to have increased to about $3,197 by December 2024.
Grayscale investments
A leading financial analyst with Grayscale Investments, LLC – Mathew Beck – is confident that ZCash prices will soar and hit historical price levels within the next five years. Mathew is confident that more cryptocurrency users will start treating ZCash like digital money and less like a tradable instrument in the future. If this is achieved, according to Mathew, ZCash will see a monumental price jump that is likely to help the privacy coin break above the $60,000 mark by the end of 2025.
Coinliker
Coinliker uses a unique in-house forecast algorithm to predict the value of different cryptocurrencies. The algorithm’s analysis reports are bullish on the price of ZCash as they expect the value of the digital asset to grow steadily in the coming years. By 2025, Coinliker expects one ZEC coin to be worth as much as $920.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Past ZCash Price Predictions That Came True
John Young
John Young, a renowned crypto analyst and the author of the Spreadsheet blog, used technical analysis to accurately predict the price of ZCash during the year.
Using both simulation and technical analysis tools, John Young predicted (on 3rd November 2017) that the price of ZCash for the year 2018 would fall and trade between $9 and $1073 – with an average of $275. And true to his analysis, ZCash traded well below the $200 (at times below $100) price mark for the better part of the year.
The Future Of ZCash: What Are Experts Saying About ZCash Potential Growth?
There general feeling shared by investors and cryptocurrency experts is that moving forward, ZCash price will continue soaring. Virtually all the analysis reports we have highlighted here project a bullish future for the ZEC coin. But they also seem to agree that this uptrend will be relatively slow and that its actualization is also pegged on several factors outside the control of the coin and its developers.
First, they believe that Zcash continued value rise is largely pegged on a sustained bull run on the part of Bitcoin. After tying virtually all the significant ZEC price jumps in the past to a Bitcoin price rally, these experts are confident that a sustained BTC will most likely drag up the value of ZEC coins.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, crypto experts believe that ZCash prices will soar or tank based on its adoption as virtual money. They are confident that as more individuals and entities embrace ZEC not just as a store of value but as a currency, its value will soar well past the historical price levels set in 2016. The opposite is true.
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Bottom Line: Will The Value Of ZCash Rise In The Future?
ZCash price performance for the past two and half years has been mediocre. A series of events that have been happening since the last quarter of 2020 have, however, helped rekindle the coin’s spark by helping it test new price levels last reached in 2017.
These include the ongoing Bitcoin price rally, upgrades to the ZCash network, and the possibility of the coin being used as a digital currency and not just as an investment vehicle.
Moving forward, there is a real possibility of the ZEC coin price soaring even higher and breaking above the historic price set in 2016.
To get here, however, two things must happen. First, Bitcoin must maintain its ongoing price rally. Similarly, ZCash must convince users about its effectiveness as a currency and not just as another tradable instrument.
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.