Zcash gained about 20% over the past 24 hours as Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed that the crypto investment firm made an unspecified purchase of ZEC, the privacy-focused token that has been outperforming a broader rise across crypto markets.
Zcash (ZEC), a cryptocurrency that enables users to make shielded transactions that conceal addresses and transaction amounts using zero-knowledge proofs, traded around $1,338 at last look on Thursday. Its surge came in the wake of Huang’s Wednesday post revealing that Paradigm is an investor in the Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) as well as a ZEC token holder.
Today’s more than 10% rise extends ZEC’s one-month increase to roughly 160%, compared to Bitcoin’s (BTC) 18.2% rise in the same period, according to Coingecko data.
Huang described Zcash as a “private complement to Bitcoin” and backed its inflation-funded developer fund, arguing that long-term funding remains important as AI-driven cyber capabilities and quantum computing advance. He also said he supported combining Zcash coin voting with other forms of governance to reduce unpredictability as a monetary asset.
Paradigm’s investment in the wider Zcash ecosystem was already public. In March, ZODL announced a seed round of more than $25 million that included Paradigm, a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures and Winklevoss Capital.
ZEC’s rise came as the broader crypto market advanced after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%, its first increase since 2023.
Privacy coins have also substantially outperformed the wider market. Glassnode data showed the sector was 213% above its level at Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak, while a basket excluding ZEC was up about 85% over the past year.
Related: Zcash says Ironwood proof rules out undetectable counterfeiting bugs
