Zcash breaks $1,000 as its spot ETF crosses $400 million in assets

According to CryptoSlate, Zcash broke above $1,000 on September 4, lifting the asset value of Grayscale's ZCSH ETF past $400 million. ZEC registered an intraday high of $1,050.70, rising roughly 20% over 24 hours and nearly 100% over the past month. This price movement pushed ZCSH's assets to $414.7 million as of September 3, up from about $304.6 million at its August 25 launch on NYSE Arca.

Derivatives activity expanded alongside the price increase. CoinGlass data indicated that Zcash futures open interest crossed $2 billion for the first time, while 24-hour futures volume climbed above $6 billion. Additionally, roughly $40 million of ZEC shorts were liquidated within 24 hours.

The recent rally returned Zcash to the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap for the first time since 2018. Cryptographer Arjun Khemani noted that privacy is only one property of Zcash, pointing also to its fixed 21 million supply, Bitcoin-like emissions schedule, and technical development. Meanwhile, Grayscale highlighted potential demand driven by artificial intelligence and privacy considerations, though it noted that shielded transactions can create regulatory and compliance concerns.