Zcash Drops to $550 as Traders Defend 33% Weekly Surge and Eye Another Run

On May 11, zcash ($ZEC) fell to $550 after a sharp rally, but the privacy coin remains up 33% in seven days as renewed interest and controversy fuel debate over its future.

Zcash Pulls Back After Sharp Rally

Privacy coin zcash ($ZEC) plunged to $550 on Monday, even as renewed chatter about privacy in the crypto world continued to boost interest in the token. Market data shows that after peaking just below $640 on May 9, $ZEC retreated to $550 by 11 a.m. EST on May 11 before recovering slightly to $555.

However, despite the nearly 7% decline over 24 hours, the reversal did not erase most of the gains $ZEC made since May 4, when the privacy coin initially surged from below $420 to $600 in less than 24 hours. Although it slipped below the $550 threshold a day later, $ZEC largely held above that level until now, leading proponents to conclude that the token may be poised for a parabolic rally similar to the one seen in the final quarter of 2025.

Although the price reversal chipped away at zcash’s value, the privacy coin was still up 33% over seven days, market data showed. The retreat also pushed its market capitalization to just under $10 billion, which was still enough to leave it as the number one the largest privacy coin by market capitalization.

Renewed interest in zcash follows a turbulent start to the year, marked by the mass resignation of the development team over a governance dispute with the Bootstrap board. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the resignations rattled the privacy community and triggered a sharp sell-off in $ZEC as markets reacted to uncertainty surrounding the project’s future. The sell-off pushed the privacy coin’s price below $400, where it remained until May 4.

$ZEC’s revival has been welcomed by Josh Swihart, founder of Zcash Open Development Lab, formerly known as Electric Coin Company, who sees the latest price action as vindication of the protocol changes made in recent months. Swihart also suggested that investors support the direction adopted by his development team, citing the $25 million in funding secured from a16z, Paradigm, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies and Maelstrom.

However, critics on social media drew attention to the controversy that sparked the mass resignations in January. According to one user on X, the changes that prompted the resignations have not made $ZEC as private as Swihart and others claim.

“$ZEC isn’t private anyway, btw, if only 30% of the supply sits in the shielded pool. The other 70% being transparent is enough to capture data on the specific deposits within the shielded pool with turnstile crossings that chain analytics firms use to link flows,” the user argued.

Others insist that $ZEC’s “sudden” vertical moves are not a sign of strength but rather “a warning shot.”