ZcashZEC

A proof-of-work coin with a 21 million cap and optional private, shielded payments.

Rank #10Since October 2016

Price on 31 Oct 2026

C$1,783 +177.7% since 31 Jul 2026 · 57.9% below its all-time high

The short version

Zcash is a proof-of-work coin with a 21 million cap that lets users hide the sender, receiver and amount of a payment using zero-knowledge proofs. US non-profits and a Swiss lab develop it, paid from 20% of new coins until Nov 2028. Its NU7 network upgrade, with 25-second blocks, is expected around 5 Nov 2026. On 31 Oct 2026 one ZEC cost C$1,783. From 31 Jul 2026 to 31 Oct 2026 its price changed +177.7% in Canadian dollars, and it was 57.9% below its all-time high of C$4,234 set on 28 Oct 2016.^[1]

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 12 sources · next update about 1 Dec 2026

Price, past year

Past year: high C$2,340 (27 Sep 2026) · low C$268.59 (9 Mar 2026) · +214.8%^[1]

Month-end prices (table)

Date	C$	US$
31 Oct 2026	C$1,781	US$1,276
30 Sep 2026	C$2,018	US$1,417
31 Aug 2026	C$1,160	US$836.20
31 Jul 2026	C$659.31	US$469.96
30 Jun 2026	C$577.59	US$406.61
31 May 2026	C$728.72	US$528.20
30 Apr 2026	C$444.42	US$327.27
31 Mar 2026	C$313.40	US$225.42
28 Feb 2026	C$298.93	US$218.59
31 Jan 2026	C$458.85	US$340.09
31 Dec 2025	C$722.98	US$527.93
30 Nov 2025	C$645.23	US$460.02

Daily prices from CoinGecko; C$ converted at the Bank of Canada daily rate. The latest point is live when available. Past prices, not a forecast.

Choose what to see

Key facts

Price, 31 Oct 2026: C$1,783^[1]
3-month change: +177.7% in C$ (31 Jul 2026 to 31 Oct 2026)^[1]
From its high: 57.9% below its high of C$4,234 (28 Oct 2016)^[1]
Market rank: #10, market value about C$30.3B^[1]
Kind: Native coin · Zcash (its own network)
Started: October 2016

Checks: the same 9 questions for every coin

Facts, not a rating

Can an admin key create new coins?NoNew ZEC come only from the mining schedule; 20% goes to development funds^[2]

Can anyone freeze or take coins from holders?NoThe protocol has no function to freeze or seize ZEC^[2]

Can the token's contract code be changed?Not applicableRuns on its own blockchain; its rules change only through network upgrades

Is the supply capped?Yes21M maximum; about 17.0M issued^[2]

Any scheduled unlocks in the next 12 months?NoNo vesting; mining issuance about 3.9% a year^[2]

Does a team or foundation hold over 10% of supply?Not disclosedFounders' Reward was 10% of maximum supply; current team and fund holdings unpublished^[2]

Do network fees reach coin holders?NoFees go to miners; there is no burn or staking^[3]

Main network hacked or halted in the past 2 years?NoNo exploit or halt of the Zcash network found since Oct 2024^[4]

Is a regulator or court case targeting the coin itself?NoNo regulator case found; a US spot fund (ZCSH) trades on NYSE Arca^{[5, 6]}

Each answer is a fact with a source, not a score. What each check means.

Who controls it

Run by: Electric Coin Co. and Zcash Foundation (US non-profits), Shielded Labs (Zug) and Zcash Community Grants^[2]
Founder: Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn founded Electric Coin Co.; the cryptography comes from the Zerocash academic team^[2]
Largest fund: Grayscale's ZCSH held US$649.7M of ZEC, about 3.1% of the total value^[5]

Supply

In circulation: 17.01M ZEC of a 21.00M maximum (81.0%)^[1]
Issued: About 17.0M of 21M ZEC (81%)^[2]
New coins: About 657,000 ZEC a year (3.9%) from mining; 20% goes to development funds until Nov 2028^[2]
Unlocks: None; no investor or team vesting^[2]

Use and fees

Main use: Private payments: optional shielded transactions hide sender, receiver and amount^[2]
Network fees: US$0.73M in the past year, up from US$0.14M the year before^[3]
Who gets fees: Miners; there is no burn or staking^[3]

Trading

Daily trading: About C$1.3B a day on average, 31 Jul 2026 to 31 Oct 2026^[1]
Daily turnover: Typically 5.36% of its market value changes hands each day^[1]
20-week average: 49.9% above its 20-week average price^[1]
1-year change: +248.1% in C$^[1]^[7]

History

Not a forecast

Coins ranked 2-10 at this point in past cycles (12-14 months after a Bitcoin peak), one year later: 243 cases, 23 coins

49% were higher a year later^[8]

Typical result: Median -1% after a year; 72% higher after two years
Lost half or more: 21% within a year
Against Bitcoin: 7% did better than Bitcoin over the year

History, not a forecast.

Red flags and things to watch

No red flags found

The NU7 upgrade is set for block 3,543,405, expected around 5 Nov 2026: 25-second blocks and retirement of the old Sprout pool.^{[9, 10]}
NU7 activated on the Zcash test network on 4 Oct 2026 at block 4,465,026.^[11]
EU anti-money-laundering rules bar regulated firms from handling anonymity-enhancing coins from July 2027.^[12]
Winklevoss filed a US Zcash ETF on 6 Oct 2026; Grayscale's ZCSH trades on NYSE Arca.^[6]

Checked: admin keys, contract upgrades, unlocks, insider supply, hacks, legal actions and claims against records.

Sources and dates

Facts as of 31 Oct 2026. Prices from CoinGecko in Canadian and US dollars; US$ figures without a C$ price are converted at 1.3976 C$ per US$.