Zcash gained 22% over the last week as Grayscale and other market participants highlighted privacy as a core investment thesis, while Delphi Digital reported that the share of circulating ZEC held in shielded pools rose from roughly 11% to nearly 30% in one year. Nearly 1 million additional ZEC moved into shielded addresses since October 2025. Shielded transactions use zk-SNARKs, or zero-knowledge proofs, to conceal senders, receivers and amounts. Delphi also reported approximately $285 million in ZEC transaction volume during the 30 days before its February 5 publication, compared with $348 million for Bitcoin. The report pointed to the Tachyon upgrade, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, as a plan to improve efficiency and scaling while adding post-quantum privacy features. The SEC closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation without enforcement action, while Grayscale is pursuing a spot ZEC ETF. The broader market context remained uncertain: hedge fund manager Richard Galvin said crypto trading volumes could be near a cyclical bottom, although prices might fall further, while Hyperliquid gained 11% after the SEC approved the Innovation Exemption for on-chain tokenized stock trading.