This big green candle for ZEC today is making everyone itch with excitement. But the logic behind the pump is worth dissecting carefully.

Let’s start with the demand side. Bitcoin’s so-called “pseudo-anonymity” has long been seen through by the US Department of Justice—the recent seizure of $15 billion in BTC is a living example. People in the industry are starting to realize that if you really want to hide something, you still have to rely on hardcore privacy coins like ZEC. The data doesn’t lie: the shielded pool asset ratio has surged to 29%, hitting an all-time high, which shows that real money is flowing in.

The timing is also interesting. In November 2025, ZEC is set for its third halving, with block rewards to be slashed in half and the annual inflation rate potentially dropping to 4%. Looking back at past records, after the previous two halvings, prices both multiplied several times. Could today’s move just be an appetizer?

Institutions are making even bigger moves. Grayscale’s ZEC Trust soared 228% in a month, Naval directly called it “Bitcoin insurance,” and Arthur Hayes went even further, calling for a five-figure price target. In the derivatives market, $72 million in shorts were liquidated, bears were pummeled, and funding rates have remained negative—clear signs that whales are accumulating.

On the technical front, things are also heating up. Electric Coin Co. is pushing for one-time addresses and cross-chain privacy solutions, while the Orchard protocol has brought transaction speeds down to seconds. ZEC is evolving from just a “privacy tool” to core infrastructure.

The stricter the regulation, the more valuable privacy coins become. How high can ZEC go this time? The story is just beginning.