The Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZCSH), a spot exchange-traded fund for Zcash (ZEC), has seen its average daily trading volume double to roughly $1.7 million in April, up from $800,000 in February 2024. This marks the highest level of activity since January and signals growing institutional demand for regulated privacy-focused crypto assets.
According to a report from The Block, the volume surge represents a significant recovery from the peaks seen in late 2023, when the ETF averaged over $3 million in daily volume in November and December. The steady month-over-month gains began in March, when volume reached $1.2 million, before climbing to the current $1.7 million in April.
Alongside the ETF's volume increase, Zcash's on-chain fundamentals are strengthening. The shielded supply of ZEC—tokens using the network's privacy features—has hit a record high. The Orchard pool, which utilizes Halo 2 zero-knowledge proofs and is the primary pool for migrating ZEC holders, has grown from 1.92 million ZEC to 4.55 million ZEC over the past 12 months. This means nearly 30% of all circulating ZEC now resides behind a shielded balance, the highest ratio in the cryptocurrency's history.
Industry analysts attribute the rally to improved regulatory clarity around privacy coins, the broader crypto market recovery, and growing enterprise adoption of privacy blockchain use cases. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not classified Zcash as a security, reducing legal uncertainty for investors.
ZEC's price has responded positively, currently trading at $320—a 50% increase over the past 30 days. Despite this strong performance, the token remains down approximately 35% year-to-date. Market observers will be watching whether the ZCSH ETF can sustain more than $2 million in daily volume next month, as its trading activity is increasingly viewed as a real-time gauge of regulated institutional appetite for privacy assets.
