Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) has risen about 200% over the past month and more than 2,870% from a year earlier, briefly topping $1,500 after gaining nearly 11% on September 18, according to CoinMarketCap data. Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF, ZCSH, listed on NYSE Arca in late August and has recorded net inflows for three consecutive weeks, reaching about $890 million in net assets by September 18. The product has broadened access through traditional brokerage accounts and provided institutions with a regulated route to exposure. Zcash’s outlook has also been supported by the Ironwood upgrade, applied to the mainnet in late July, and expectations for NU7. The ecosystem approved a plan with roughly 99% support to reduce block times to 25 seconds from 75 seconds while retaining the existing Bitcoin-style halving schedule. The development team plans to test NU7 next month and apply it to the mainnet as early as November. Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang’s comments that Zcash complements Bitcoin, along with Paradigm’s investment in the token, preceded a daily gain of more than 20%. Some market participants, including crypto trader Ansem, see a possible parallel with Bitcoin’s 2017 cycle, when Bitcoin rose from about $1,000 to about $13,000. Grayscale head of research Zach Pandl said wider artificial-intelligence adoption is increasing interest in privacy and described Zcash as a way to express a view on personal and financial privacy rather than a direct competitor to Bitcoin. Zcash remains unavailable on South Korean exchanges, which delisted privacy coins including Zcash and Monero (XMR) after restrictions introduced in 2021 over anti-money-laundering concerns.