Zcash has surged to its highest level since 2016, pushing the privacy-focused token’s market capitalization past $20 billion as momentum continues into the new week. CoinGecko data shows ZEC briefly touched $1,249.28 before easing to around $1,195 on Monday.

The move has been rapid: ZEC is up roughly 45% over the past week and about 138% across the last 30 days, according to CoinGecko’s price charts. While the latest rally is impressive, it still sits below Zcash’s launch-era peak—CoinGecko lists an all-time high of $3,191.93 on Oct. 28, 2016, when only a small supply of tokens was available.

Key takeaways

• ZEC reached the highest price since 2016, with CoinGecko reporting a peak near $1,249.28 before a pullback to about $1,195.
• The token has gained approximately 45% in a week and 138% in 30 days, helping push Zcash’s market cap above $20 billion.
• Zcash’s privacy model relies on shielded transactions using zero-knowledge proofs to hide sender, recipient, and transfer amount.
• Grayscale’s Zcash ETF—trading on NYSE ARCA under the ticker ZCSH—has supported renewed attention since it began trading Aug. 25.
• Grayscale research argues privacy demand could rise as AI makes it easier to connect public blockchain activity to real-world identities.

A privacy asset resurfaces at multi-year highs

The latest rally has placed Zcash back in the spotlight for investors looking at how privacy features may translate into real market demand. CoinGecko’s figures show the token extending gains that have steadily built over the last month, rather than spiking and fading quickly.

Zcash’s “shielded” option is central to that narrative. Unlike fully public transfers on most traditional blockchains, Zcash allows users to choose between public and shielded transactions. Shielded payments use zero-knowledge proofs to verify that a transfer is valid without exposing key details such as the sender, recipient, or the amount.

That capability matters because it directly addresses a persistent concern in crypto adoption: transparency can be valuable, but it can also create traceability risks for individuals and businesses. If more market participants believe those risks are increasing, privacy-preserving assets may attract renewed capital.

Grayscale links the privacy thesis to AI-era tracing

In an Aug. 31 analysis, Grayscale’s head of research, Zach Pandl, highlighted Zcash’s privacy features as potentially becoming a “must have” for users who prioritize confidentiality. The argument is not limited to general privacy preferences; Pandl specifically pointed to the role AI could play in raising the difficulty threshold for anonymity.

Pandl said AI could increase demand for financial privacy by making it easier to link public blockchain transactions to user identities. The core idea is that even if transactions are technically pseudonymous, pattern recognition and entity linkage tools can reduce anonymity over time.

For Zcash, that framing aligns with what shielded transactions are designed to do: keep critical transaction data private while still maintaining verifiability through cryptographic proofs.

ETF-driven momentum after Grayscale’s Zcash Trust conversion

Grayscale’s product transition appears to be part of the catalyst behind the renewed interest. The firm converted its existing Zcash Trust into an exchange-traded fund, with the resulting ETF trading under the ticker ZCSH. The fund started trading on NYSE ARCA on Aug. 25, giving traditional brokerage investors a more straightforward way to gain exposure to ZEC.

According to the ETF’s website, the fund closed Friday at $83.77 per share and reported $463.2 million in assets under management. That combination—new access routes plus accumulating assets—often reinforces momentum, particularly when a token is already in a strong price trend.

At the same time, ZEC’s recent performance also underlines how investor narratives can accelerate quickly once a key access point changes. The ETF’s listing did not alter Zcash’s underlying protocol, but it did expand who can buy the exposure and how easily that exposure can be held within existing portfolio infrastructure.

What to watch next for ZEC and the privacy trade

With ZEC now at its highest level since 2016, the next question is whether the rally can hold as the market digests the ETF-driven demand narrative. Traders and long-term observers may want to monitor how liquidity and ETF inflows evolve after the initial momentum phase, and whether broader sentiment toward on-chain privacy continues to strengthen alongside the privacy-and-AI argument.

XRP is currently trading near one of the most crucial resistances after moving up from $1.10 to $1.41-$1.44 in August and September, respectively. XRP bulls have taken it up to its highest level for 12 months, but on-chain data is now posing some doubts regarding the strength of the rally.

The daily chart provides more insight into what is going on. For over 12 months, XRP bulls have been able to contain XRP within the $1.00-$1.41 range, with $1.4108 representing its most recent yearly high. The current level sees the XRP price back near this ceiling.

Key Takeaways

• XRP price is testing the $1.4131-$1.42 resistance area after rising by about 28% from $1.10 in August.
• If the breakout above $1.4131 is confirmed, XRP will face $1.50 and $1.60; otherwise, rejection could lead to a fall to $1.38 and $1.35.
• XRP market capitalization increased from $87 billion to $91 billion, supporting the rise in price.
• The number of active addresses increased to 45,000 but fell again to 35,000, indicating that network activity has cooled down amid the highs.
• XRP number of transactions decreased from 2.15 million to 1.85-1.90 million amid the price rise, generating a bearish divergence.
• For confirmation of the breakout, active addresses should return to 40,000-45,000, and transactions should be above 2 million.

Xrp Price Tests $1.41 Resistance

We looked at the XRP chart, and the short-term trend looks stronger than the broader market structure. XRP climbed from about $1.10 to $1.4131 over the past three to four weeks. That works out to a move of roughly 28%, and the rally has produced a clear series of higher highs and higher lows on the 4-hour timeframe.

The EMA 9 is also giving buyers some support. It currently stands at $1.4093, with XRP fluctuating near $1.4122. If the price continues above the stated level, short-term momentum will favor buyers. The critical levels are $1.4131-$1.42.

XRP hit a peak of $1.4131 but couldn’t keep it, falling to $1.3988. That shows sellers are still active around this zone. A 4-hour break above $1.4131 will confirm the breakout above the yearly range for the bulls. The next target is $1.50, followed by $1.60. However, in case of failure, the first level to watch is $1.4093. A breakdown of the EMA 9 could see the price fall to $1.35, with support around $1.30-$1.35.

On-Chain Data Raises Some Questions

The market-cap figures also indicate the recent surge in XRP. XRP’s market cap increased from around $87 billion to $91 billion as the price surged from around $1.38 to $1.44, an increase of about 4.6%.

Network activity doesn’t seem particularly convincing. Active addresses rose from around 25,000 to 45,000 as the price reached $1.44, but then dropped to around 35,000.

Transaction activity is even more interesting. Transactions fell from roughly 2.15 million to about 1.85-1.90 million as the XRP price climbed from around $1.36 to $1.44.

In simple terms, XRP is trading at higher prices, but fewer transactions are taking place on the network. That makes the current rally look more dependent on investors holding XRP than increased network usage. For the move to look healthier, active addresses would need to return toward 40,000-45,000, and transactions would need to push back above 2 million.

What Comes Next for Xrp

The XRP price now has a clear line to watch: $1.4131. A strong 4-hour close above that level could open the door to $1.50 and potentially $1.60. The market-cap data also gives $91 billion an important role, with a move above that level pointing toward the $95 billion area.

If XRP gets rejected again, $1.38 becomes the first major level to watch, followed by $1.35. The technical setup is bullish in the short term, but the on-chain numbers need to improve. XRP can break above $1.41 without them, but stronger transaction activity and more active addresses would give the breakout better confirmation.

Malone Lam, the alleged ringleader of a group accused of stealing more than $240 million in Bitcoin from a Washington, D.C., investor, has been set for a plea agreement hearing after 10 other defendants admitted guilt in the sprawling crypto theft case.

The Associated Press reported that the 22-year-old Singaporean is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, nearly two years after prosecutors accused him and his associates of using social engineering to steal more than 4,100 Bitcoin from a longtime crypto investor in August 2024.

Eighteen defendants have been charged in the case, with Lam set to become the 11th to plead guilty. A prosecutor estimated during his first court appearance that federal sentencing guidelines could recommend at least 14 years in prison if he is convicted.

Lam was arrested in September 2024 after investigators traced a month-long spending spree involving luxury cars, private jets, expensive watches, mansions and millions of dollars spent at nightclubs.

Malone Lam case began with a $240 million Bitcoin theft

The case centers on an Aug. 18, 2024, attack against a Washington resident identified in court filings as “Victim 7.”

Prosecutors said the group targeted the man because he was a wealthy, longtime cryptocurrency investor. One caller posed as a Google representative and asked about supposed attempts to compromise the victim’s account. Another pretended to work for crypto exchange Gemini and warned that malware had affected his wallet.

The callers persuaded the victim to give them access to his Google Drive and disclose security codes, allowing the group to take control of more than 4,100 BTC.

Crypto.news previously reported in September 2024 that Lam, Veer Chetal and Jeandiel Serrano were linked to the roughly $243 million social engineering attack. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT helped trace the theft and published material tied to the group.

A private recording captured the suspects reacting after gaining control of the Bitcoin, according to the AP. One voice could be heard saying, “Oh, my God! Bro, bro, I’m going to spaz out!”

The stolen cryptocurrency was subsequently moved through multiple exchange platforms as money launderers worked to convert parts of the proceeds into fiat currency, prosecutors said.

Investigators alleged that the August theft was not the group’s first operation. Lam and his associates, who had met through online gaming communities, had worked together on other multimillion-dollar thefts since late 2023 using similar social engineering methods.

Such attacks have remained a major source of cryptocurrency losses. In January 2026, a crypto holder lost more than $282 million in Bitcoin and Litecoin after being deceived in another social engineering scheme involving a hardware wallet. ZachXBT said the stolen assets were moved through instant exchanges and converted into Monero.

Investigators traced the group through an IP address

One operational mistake helped investigators identify the people behind the 2024 theft.

Prosecutors said Serrano created an account on a cryptocurrency exchange to hold nearly $30 million in stolen assets but failed to conceal his internet protocol address. Investigators traced it to a home in Encino, California, that he was renting for $47,500 per month.

By then, members of the group had started spending their proceeds.

Serrano was vacationing in the Maldives when investigators identified him as a suspect, while Lam and his associates spent $4 million at Los Angeles nightclubs within a month, according to authorities.

Lam alone spent more than $569,000 during one night at a Los Angeles club. The FBI said he used stolen cryptocurrency to buy a $2 million watch and more than 30 vehicles, including customized Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

Chetal bought his parents a Lamborghini and kept $500,000 in cash inside a duffel bag hidden in their washing machine.

Their spending soon created another security problem. Roughly a week after the Bitcoin theft, several masked men intercepted Chetal’s parents while they were driving in Danbury, Connecticut.

The attackers beat Chetal’s father with a baseball bat, forced the couple into a van and bound their hands, according to the AP. Prosecutors said the group intended to use the parents to pressure Chetal into surrendering his portion of the stolen cryptocurrency.

Witnesses contacted police, and officers arrested the alleged kidnappers before the ransom plan could be completed.

Physical attacks involving cryptocurrency holders and their relatives have become more common. Chainalysis estimated that criminals stole more than $30 million through successful physical crypto attacks worldwide during the first half of 2026.

The blockchain analytics firm documented 46 attacks through late June, of which 12 resulted in payments. Family members or people connected to crypto holders accounted for roughly 25% to 30% of documented cases by early 2026.

FBI arrests followed the group’s spending spree

The FBI searched Chetal’s apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, on Sept. 9, 2024, finding $37 million in stolen cryptocurrency in his possession. Chetal subsequently agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Nine days later, agents arrested Serrano at Los Angeles International Airport while he was wearing a watch valued at $500,000.

Serrano initially denied involvement but later acknowledged possessing roughly $20 million in cryptocurrency stolen from the Washington victim, prosecutors said. His charges remain pending.

Lam was arrested the same day at one of the Miami properties he had been using. Prosecutors later alleged that an off-duty law enforcement officer warned him that authorities were preparing to make the arrest.

“We always talked about what it would be like if I were to go down, but never thought it would be this crazy,” Lam told associates during a recorded jail call cited in his indictment.

His spending surprised U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle during his initial appearance in Miami.

“I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad,” Valle said, referring to the main character in the 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

The arrests did not immediately stop stolen funds from being spent. Prosecutors said another defendant, Ferro, later used proceeds from the scheme to pay Lam’s legal expenses. Ferro pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and declined to address the court when he was sentenced in May.

Social engineering losses remain high

The Lam case is part of a series of large cryptocurrency thefts in which attackers have targeted people instead of exploiting blockchain code.

Another elderly American lost $330.7 million worth of Bitcoin in April 2025 after attackers used a social engineering scheme to take 3,520 BTC, according to ZachXBT. The funds were subsequently moved through more than 300 wallets and at least 20 exchanges.

Federal data have recorded substantial losses from crypto-related fraud. The FBI received 181,565 cryptocurrency-related complaints involving $11.37 billion in losses during 2025, while investment fraud accounted for 61,559 complaints and $7.23 billion in reported losses.

Cybersecurity researcher Allison Nixon, who has tracked an online hacker subculture known as The Com, told the AP that the large sums available through crypto fraud have attracted young offenders and called for more law enforcement resources.

“If we don’t seriously ramp up the resources to take these people down and do it faster, then it’s going to spread more and more,” Nixon said.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who is overseeing Lam’s case, has already sentenced three of his alleged co-conspirators. Two defendants involved in laundering the stolen funds received prison terms of roughly six years.

Chetal pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in November 2024 and is awaiting sentencing, while Tucker Desmond received probation after pleading guilty to destroying evidence connected to other members of the group.

Desmond told the court during his March sentencing that he had become “obsessed with the image of success rather than actually becoming a hard-working individual myself.”

During Ferro’s sentencing in May, defense attorney Kevin Wilson described the defendants as mischievous “young kids,” an argument Kollar-Kotelly rejected.

“Being young only goes so far,” the judge said.

Zcash (ZEC) climbed to its highest price since 2016, extending a rally that has pushed the privacy-focused cryptocurrency’s market capitalization above $20 billion.

ZEC reached $1,249.28 before retreating to about $1,195 on Monday, according to CoinGecko data. The token gained about 45% over the past week and 138% over 30 days.

The rally leaves Zcash below its launch-era record. CoinGecko lists an all-time high of $3,191.93 on Oct. 28, 2016, when only a small supply of tokens was available.

Zcash allows users to choose between public and “shielded” transactions. The latter uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify payments without revealing the sender, recipient or transaction amount.

“For users that prioritize privacy, this could become a ‘must have’ feature,” Grayscale’s head of research, Zach Pandl, said in an Aug. 31 analysis.

Pandl said that AI could increase demand for financial privacy by making it easier to link public blockchain transactions to users’ identities.

Zcash has been on a tear since Grayscale converted its existing Zcash Trust into an exchange-traded fund. The product, trading under the ticker ZCSH, began trading on NYSE ARCA on Aug. 25, giving investors exposure to ZEC through brokerage accounts.

The ETF closed Friday at $83.77 a share, with $463.2 million in assets under management, according to the fund’s website. US markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Related: Grayscale says Zcash can challenge Bitcoin’s network effects as privacy demand grows

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

Bitcoin sidechain Liquid Network has paused operations after supposed white-hat hackers withdrew 4,000 BTC, worth around $320 million, from its federation wallet.

White-hat hackers are cybersecurity professionals who detect vulnerabilities in software, hardware, or networks and warn organizations about potential security risks.

Liquid Network Pauses Operations

The Bitcoin sidechain released a statement on X confirming the incident, adding that it was working with Blockstream, its technology partner, to contact the hackers in question through an on-chain signed message. However, Liquid Network has not yet identified the hackers or disclosed whether the funds would be returned.

“We are aware of a security incident on @Liquid_BTC. Purported white-hat hackers have withdrawn ~4,000 BTC (~$320 million) from the Liquid Federation wallet. The @Blockstream team is working on contacting them on-chain with a signed message.”

The hackers withdrew around 95% of Liquid’s Bitcoin reserves. The sidechain’s Bitcoin reserves stood at 4,200 BTC before the security incident.

Incident Details

The statement also explained how the Bitcoin was withdrawn. According to Liquid Network, the hackers withdrew the funds using the SideSwap PAK, or Peg-Out Authorization Key. The statement clarified that the network was not compromised, but it did not disclose the vulnerability that allowed the white-hat hackers to withdraw the BTC. Following the withdrawal, the hackers reached out to the Liquid Network in an on-chain message linked to the transaction.

“We are whitehats. Contact us on-chain.”

It also notified cryptocurrency exchanges, with deposits and withdrawals of LBTC, the sidechain’s Bitcoin-backed token, already suspended. The protocol also temporarily disabled bridge nodes to prevent new transactions from being submitted to the network.

“Exchanges have been notified and have already paused (or will pause) LBTC deposits and withdrawals. Other Liquid assets such as USDT, DePix, and RWAs are unaffected by this security incident. Bridge nodes have been temporarily disabled, so no new transactions can be submitted to the network. Effectively, the Liquid sidechain is paused until this issue is resolved.”

The Liquid Network warned that wallets may also be impacted, but said the incident did not affect other assets such as USDT, DePix, and real-world assets.

Crypto Security Back In Focus

Liquid Network is a Bitcoin sidechain facilitating faster and confidential transfers. It also enables the issuance of digital assets. BTC in Liquid is represented by the LBTC token, with the underlying asset secured by federation operators. The protocol is used by several platforms for quick settlements, primarily because the primary Bitcoin blockchain often faces network congestion.

The incident, part of a string of hacks that have hit the industry, has put crypto security back in the spotlight. A Crypto.com-linked lending platform was drained of $6 million by a hacker on August 31. The recent Coldcard exploit also shook the foundations of digital asset custody, raising serious questions about cold wallets, considered the safest way to store crypto.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.