Raoul Pal, the Co-Founder and CEO of Real Vision, known for its macro and crypto insights, a financial media and education platform, says that the recent surge in the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash, a decentralized, privacy-focused cryptocurrency that enables confidential transactions through advanced cryptography, was likely driven by capital rotation rather than a long-held bullish trend.

Pal speculated investors put money into Zcash not because they have strong support for the token’s future prospects, but as part of a more extensive portfolio rotation in the crypto market.

During his conversation with Kevin Follonier, the host of the “When Shift Happens” podcast held on Thursday, December 18, Pal claimed that he does not actually require that many assets, like Zcash, to declare that he was among the first.

Pal raises concerns about Zcash’s latest significant growth

This year, news about Zcash’s significant growth has made headlines, drawing the interest of several reports seeking to interview the executives behind the cryptocurrency. Crypto investors, on the other hand, were amused by such a move, demonstrating a heightened desire to make a major investment in Zcash.

Nonetheless, even with this excitement in the crypto industry, Pal cautioned that it was too early to conclude whether such a rise marked the beginning of a substantial uptrend. He further elaborated that, “We can’t confirm that until the entire market rises and it keeps trending up instead of just shifting around.” At this particular moment, the CEO still held firm to his earlier argument that this growth backs the concept of a rotation.

Regarding Zcash’s significant rise, reports highlighted that it is currently valued at $411.08, illustrating a growth of 744.9% since January 1, 2025, according to data from CoinMarketCap. However, sources have pointed out that Zcash’s momentum has decreased in recent weeks, with its price declining by approximately 37% over the past month.

Following the release of this information, Pal commented that a key indicator at the moment is whether Zcash will be able to establish a solid base price after its latest rise. He explained this argument, noting that he seeks to understand if it will acquire backing and then begin to increase again.

Pal also pointed out that he was unwilling to purchase the cryptocurrency at its current price. He argued that he was not sure if he was ready to chase it at the moment. This did not mean he could not consider buying it later. To support this claim, the Real Vision CEO hinted at the possibility of him purchasing Zcash at its next downturn.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the cryptocurrency experienced a surge in price despite the entire crypto market dropping sharply. Its market capitalization increased from a low of $1 billion in August to more than $7 billion by early November. 

Arthur Hayes’s move plays a significant role in Zcash’s notable surge

Sources with knowledge of Zcash’s latest growth claimed that this notable surge occurred after a tip from Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX.

This announcement indicated that an increasing number of individuals are shifting their focus towards privacy, which has drawn attention to privacy tokens, according to an analysis from XT Exchange released on November 9.

Following this evidence, reports noted that Zcash surged 30% in a day in a month earlier, particularly on October 26. This rise followed the submission of a proposal by prominent American entrepreneur Hayes, which suggested that the token might finally reach an all-time high of approximately $10,000.

Consequently, institutions demonstrated heightened interest in this cryptocurrency at the same time. To support this claim, reports dated November 27 pointed out that Grayscale Investments submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting to change its Zcash fund into a spot ETF. 

This decision followed the major digital currency asset management company’s move to launch additional spot ETFs linked to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, and XRP. 

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