The rally of Zcash (ZEC), coinciding with the ninth anniversary of the project’s launch, has sparked debate within the crypto community. Some experts view it as an example of market narrative creation and a distribution phase, while others see it as the beginning of a new bullish trend.
Happy birthday $ZEC @Zcash 🛡️ pic.twitter.com/yhtP4vPWdy
— Joachim🛡️ (@joachimtcb) October 28, 2025
At the time of writing, the asset is trading at ~$320, having gained ~470% over the month.
The altcoin rally began in September, led by anonymous tokens — Zcash and Dash.
The founder of Pink Brains studio, known as Ignas, described the rise of ZEC as an example of the formation and viral spread of market narratives.
Zcash is the perfect case study for how narratives emerge and go viral.
When $ZEC suddenly shows up on your X feed, it feels off. It is an old dinosaur coin no one cared on X until recently.
No surprise Lyn Alden warned not to become exit liquidity for coordinated pumps.
You… pic.twitter.com/Qdr8woMAwD
— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) October 26, 2025
According to him, the sudden appearance of an “old dinosaur coin” in the information field triggers a reflexive loop. The price increase attracts more attention, intensifying the fear of missing out among observers.
In such a situation, a user has two options: ignore the topic or succumb and buy the asset. After purchasing, the person becomes a spreader of the narrative, supporting the coin on social media.
Ki Young Ju, head of CryptoQuant, expressed a similar view. He stated that Zcash is in a distribution phase.
sorry but you’re retail if you’re buying zcash now pic.twitter.com/7bPAivbRFp
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) October 28, 2025
“Sorry, but you’re retail if you’re buying Zcash now,” he wrote.
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes posted a brief message with the words “vibe check” and a forecast of ZEC rising to $10,000.
Vibe check $ZEC to $10k pic.twitter.com/tBc0WaxzZ1
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 26, 2025
Investor Eric Van Tassel indirectly agreed with him. He criticized analysts who label the rise of ZEC as another “pump and dump” scheme based on past price movements.
I’ve seen my share of so called analysts on YT and on X talking about why the current pump for #ZEC will be no different than all the others that ultimately failed. I’ve pointed these rallies out with yellow arrows. They say that Zcash is just a pump and dump scheme based on… pic.twitter.com/05u1QCQI4r
— Eric Van Tassel (Not a Financial Advisor!) (@XRPathologist) October 28, 2025
He stated that previous unsuccessful rallies occurred within a multi-year consolidation structure. The current price increase happened after breaking out of it, which fundamentally changes the situation.
“The Zcash pump is legitimate because it breaks the macrostructure. Those ‘analysts’ who think this will be just another failed rally are as wrong as they can be,” said Van Tassel.
He added that good analysis always considers the break of a structure or trend relative to the entire history of the asset.
Earlier in October, the price of ZEC reached $230 for the first time since 2022.