Zcash trades above $1,250 and closes on Hyperliquid for ninth spot

Zcash ($ZEC) continued its remarkable 2026 run on Wednesday, trading near $1,250 and posting a gain of almost 8% on the day. The privacy-focused coin is up roughly 54% over the past week and approximately 151% over the past month, putting it firmly in the conversation for the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation.

ZEC Closes In on Hyperliquid's Ninth Spot

With a market cap of approximately $21.09 billion, Zcash currently ranks tenth globally and is edging toward the ninth-place position held by Hyperliquid ($HYPE). Hyperliquid holds the ninth spot on CoinMarketCap with a live market cap of around $21.12 billion. The gap between the two assets has narrowed considerably as ZEC's rally accelerates.

Over the past 24 hours, $ZEC traded within a range of $1,146 to $1,292. Circulating supply stands at 16.86 million ZEC against a hard cap of 21 million coins, a supply structure that mirrors Bitcoin's and which analysts say reinforces the scarcity argument underpinning the rally.

What Is Driving the Rally

The surge past $1,249 was triggered in part by Grayscale converting its Zcash trust into a spot ETF on NYSE Arca, a development that cleared a long-standing barrier to institutional participation. In January 2026, a nearly two-year SEC investigation into the Zcash Foundation closed without enforcement action, lifting further regulatory overhang.

Futures volume for ZEC jumped to $6.38 billion, up over 113%, while open interest rose to $2.16 billion, reflecting a surge in speculative and hedging activity. Zcash has surged roughly 2,496% over the past year, driving the privacy sector to be the only major crypto segment trading above its 2025 high.

Like Bitcoin, Zcash uses proof-of-work mining, halvings, and has a capped supply of 21 million coins, but its key differentiator is its privacy layer, which uses zero-knowledge proofs to shield transaction data. That feature has become an increasingly attractive proposition as demand for financial privacy grows.

Meanwhile, $HYPE has its own tailwinds. Hyperliquid ranks as the leading perpetual DEX by activity in 2026, processing approximately $172.63 billion in 30-day perpetual volume. Whether ZEC can overtake it in the rankings will depend on how both assets perform in the days ahead.

Sources:
CoinMarketCap: Zcash Latest Updates
CoinMarketCap: Hyperliquid (HYPE) Price and Market Cap
CryptoRank: Why Is Zcash Price Rising