Zcash News Today: ZEC Climbs to $1,250 as a Co-Founder Proposes Ending the Community Grants Stream

Last Updated: October 27, 2026

Zcash traded near $1,251 on Tuesday morning, October 27 (UTC), up about 1.7% over 24 hours and about 10% over seven days, according to CoinGecko, once again one of the strongest weekly gains among large cryptocurrencies. ZEC dipped to about $1,178 on Binance early on Monday, rallied to about $1,268 in the afternoon and has traded between about $1,212 and $1,259 on Tuesday. Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, ZCSH, extended its run of inflows to a fifth straight day on October 26, even as Ether, XRP and Solana funds lost money.

Governance is back in focus. Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe published a draft proposal late on October 26 to end the automatic 8% of new ZEC that goes to Zcash Community Grants and redirect it to a reserve for future mining rewards, CoinDesk reported. The NU7 upgrade remains on track for around November 5, and older Zebra 6.4.x nodes stop running around November 2.

Key Takeaways

• ZEC trades near $1,251, up 1.72% over 24 hours and 10.22% over seven days, with a market capitalization of about $21.3 billion and 24-hour volume of about $801 million, according to CoinGecko. On Binance, ZEC ranged from $1,178 to $1,268.34 on Monday and from about $1,212 to $1,259 on Tuesday.
• Grayscale’s ZCSH took in about $1.96 million on October 26, its fifth straight day of inflows, according to SoSoValue data reported by TokenPost. Cumulative net inflows rose to about $205.7 million and net assets to about $710.1 million, about 3.4% of Zcash’s market value.
• Sean Bowe’s draft would stop the 8% Zcash Community Grants stream and send it to the Network Sustainability Mechanism instead. The committee holds about $125 million of assets after outstanding commitments, valued at an illustrative ZEC price of $1,300, according to CoinDesk. The change would need a network rule update and has no activation date.
• NU7 remains set for block 3,543,405, expected around November 5. The Zcash Foundation’s Zebra 7.0.0 release carries that height, and mainnet node operators must upgrade before older Zebra 6.4.x nodes stop running around November 2.
• In tests across 80 nodes in 11 regions, the independent Zakura node software orphaned just over 3% of blocks at NU7’s 25-second block time, roughly twice the rate at 75 seconds, according to CoinDesk Research. Gemini has moved its Zcash infrastructure to Zakura.
• About 4.97 million ZEC, or 29.2% of supply, is held in shielded pools, according to Zecstats. About 22,263 ZEC remains in the old Sprout pool and becomes unspendable once NU7 disables version 4 transactions.

Zcash Market Overview

Data sourced from CoinGecko at about 11:00 UTC on October 27, 2026; intraday highs and lows from Binance ZEC/USDT.

Zcash News Today: Price Analysis

ZEC keeps outperforming. It fell to about $1,178 on Binance in Asian trading on Monday, when Bitcoin briefly dipped toward $79,400, then rallied to about $1,268 in the afternoon and closed near $1,233, up about 1.6% on the day. On Tuesday it has climbed back to about $1,255. Over seven days, ZEC is up about 10%, while Bitcoin is down about 2% and Ether about 3%. It now trades about 4% above its 20-day moving average near $1,208 on Binance daily closes, with the 50-day average near $1,301 as the next test.

The chart has a clear range. Friday’s high near $1,259 and Monday’s high near $1,268 have capped the rebound, while buyers have stepped in at $1,178 and Saturday’s low near $1,119. Coin Edition marks support between $1,109 and $1,176, with about $1,050 below it, and resistance at $1,219 to $1,250, a band ZEC is now testing from above. A daily close above $1,268 would open the way to the 50-day average near $1,301, while ZEC remains well below its late-September peak near $1,698.

Fund flows have been steady. ZCSH took in about $1.61 million on October 20, $15.18 million on October 21, $14.23 million on October 22, $20.52 million on October 23 and $1.96 million on October 26, according to SoSoValue data reported by TokenPost, about $53.5 million over five days. Monday’s inflow was small, but it came on a day when XRP, Solana and Hyperliquid funds all lost money. Our report on whether Zcash’s privacy-ETF rally is over covers the earlier outflows.

The grants proposal reopens a long-running debate about how Zcash funds development. Today, 8% of newly created ZEC goes to Zcash Community Grants, about 144 ZEC a day, and another 12% goes to a fund whose grants are decided by coinholder votes. Bowe’s draft would end the ZCG stream for the rest of its term and move it to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, which holds funds for future mining rewards, citing the roughly $125 million the committee already holds, according to CoinDesk. The proposal follows a record coinholder vote in September, when holders backed keeping Zcash’s four-year halvings by about 2.38 million ZEC to 22,000.

The upgrade is the main event on the calendar. NU7 follows the Ironwood upgrade (NU6.3), which activated on July 28, and cuts the target block time to 25 seconds from 75 seconds, with block rewards divided by three so daily issuance stays the same. It also sends 60% of transaction fees to a reserve for future rewards. Faster blocks come with trade-offs: in CoinDesk Research’s tests of the Zakura client, built by Valar Group and Project Tachyon, about 3% of 25-second blocks were orphaned, twice the rate at the current block time. Our report on the NU7 upgrade timeline explains each step, and our article on the January target for quantum-resistant payments covers the next item on the roadmap.

Mining and staking debates continue alongside. Bloomberg reported on October 23 that Cypherpunk Technologies, backed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, runs about 20% of Zcash’s hashrate and that Fortitude Mining, backed by Barry Silbert, expects to reach a similar share. Over the weekend, Zcash Open Development Lab founder Josh Swihart came out against Crosslink, Shielded Labs’ proposal to add a staking layer, which is not part of NU7.

NU7 Upgrade Timeline

Holders with funds still in the Sprout pool, typically very old shielded balances on addresses starting with “zc,” should move them before NU7 activates, because version 4 transactions will no longer be valid afterwards. Zecstats shows about 22,263 ZEC still in that pool. The zcashd node software will not support NU7, and its repository was archived in July, so operators still running it need to switch to Zebra or Zakura.

Support and Resistance Levels

Levels are based on recent Binance highs and lows, the 20-day and 50-day moving averages and Coin Edition’s analysis, and are illustrative, not guaranteed.

Why Is Zcash Trending Today?

Zcash is trending because co-founder Sean Bowe proposed ending the Zcash Community Grants funding stream, because Grayscale’s ZCSH posted a fifth straight day of inflows while other altcoin ETFs lost money, and because ZEC is up about 10% on the week, one of the best performances among large cryptocurrencies, with NU7 about a week away. For the full market picture, see crypto market today, and for today’s other headlines, check crypto news today.

What This Means for the Days Ahead

The upgrade sets the calendar. Zebra 6.4.x nodes stop running around November 2, and NU7 activates at block 3,543,405 around November 5. Exchanges may pause ZEC deposits and withdrawals around the activation, as they often do for network upgrades. Bowe’s draft will go through community discussion first, and any change to the grants stream would need a later network upgrade.

On the chart, ZEC needs to hold the $1,178 to $1,208 zone and then Saturday’s low near $1,119 to keep the recovery intact, while a daily close above $1,268 would open the way to the 50-day moving average near $1,301. Daily ZCSH flows remain the best gauge of institutional demand, and the Federal Reserve’s October 28 rate decision will set the tone for risk assets across the market.

See how other majors are trading today on Bitcoin News Today, Ethereum News Today, XRP News Today, and Hedera (HBAR) News Today.

Compare Crypto Prices Today

Where to Buy Zcash

Zcash is available on major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gate, OKX and Bybit, although availability of privacy coins varies by country. US investors can also get exposure through Grayscale’s Zcash ETF (ZCSH). For gaming platforms that accept crypto, see our crypto casinos guide.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; always do your own research before investing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the price of Zcash today?
Zcash trades near $1,251 on the morning of October 27, 2026, up about 1.7% over 24 hours and about 10% over seven days, according to CoinGecko. Its market capitalization is about $21.3 billion, among the 10 largest in crypto. ZEC dipped to about $1,178 on October 26 and remains well below its late-September peak near $1,698.

When will Zcash NU7 launch on mainnet?
NU7 is set to activate at block 3,543,405, which is expected around November 5, 2026. The Zcash Foundation’s Zebra 7.0.0 release carries that height, and node operators must upgrade before it, while older Zebra 6.4.x nodes stop running around November 2. The legacy zcashd software does not support NU7, and exchanges may briefly pause ZEC transfers around the activation.

What is Sean Bowe’s Zcash grants proposal?
Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe published a draft on October 26 to end the automatic 8% of new ZEC that goes to Zcash Community Grants and redirect it to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, a reserve for future mining rewards. He points to the roughly $125 million the committee already holds. The draft has no activation date and would need a change to Zcash’s network rules.

Are Zcash ETFs still seeing inflows?
Yes. Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, ZCSH, took in about $1.96 million on October 26, its fifth straight day of inflows, according to SoSoValue data reported by TokenPost. From October 20 to 26 it gathered about $53.5 million, more than offsetting a $10.45 million outflow on October 19. Cumulative net inflows stand at about $205.7 million, with net assets near $710.1 million.