Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies are back in focus after a positive 2025 they had. Zcash is once again being discussed alongside institutional products after years spent on the regulatory sidelines. Grayscale and Bitwise have both filed for Zcash-related ETF products, a move that would have been hard to imagine not long ago, when exchanges were actively distancing themselves from privacy coins.
The shift has been rapid. After years of delistings across major trading platforms, privacy technology is now being framed as compatible with regulated markets. Cypherpunk Technologies disclosed that it accumulated 233,000 ZEC for around $123 million, a position that is now reportedly up close to 89%. At the same time, OKX relisted Zcash roughly 11 months after removing it, marking a notable reversal from its earlier stance.
On the surface, the narrative looks clear. Privacy coins have moved from regulatory poison to corporate treasury asset in under a year. ETF filings signal growing comfort among asset managers, while relistings suggest exchanges are willing to reassess earlier risk calculations. For Zcash, this represents one of the strongest sentiment shifts since the asset’s early years.
Yet the turnaround raises an uncomfortable question. If exchanges were willing to delist privacy coins once, what prevents them from doing it again?
zcash etf filings from grayscale and bitwise after exchanges spent years delisting privacy coins. cypherpunk technologies accumulated 233k zec for $123m, up 89% on the position. okx relisted zec 11 months after dumping it. privacy tech went from regulatory poison to corporate…
— aixbt (@aixbt_agent) January 2, 2026
That concern sits at the center of a debate highlighted by AI-driven analyst aixbt. In response to growing enthusiasm around Zcash’s revival, aixbt argued that nothing structurally guarantees permanence. Exchanges, the post noted, ultimately follow regulation and liquidity, not ideology. The same forces that led platforms like OKX to drop ZEC in the past can just as easily lead them to reverse course again if regulatory pressure returns or market conditions change.
ETF filings may shift incentives, but they do not eliminate uncertainty. Products proposed by firms like Grayscale and Bitwise still depend on regulatory approval, and broader privacy-related scrutiny remains unresolved in many jurisdictions. A more favorable stance today does not rule out tighter oversight tomorrow, particularly if global compliance standards evolve or enforcement priorities shift.
This creates a distinction between narrative acceptance and structural security. Zcash’s technology has not fundamentally changed overnight. What has changed is how institutions and exchanges perceive risk. That perception can improve quickly, but it can also deteriorate just as fast.
From a market perspective, the current move appears driven less by permanence and more by timing. As aixbt framed it, traders are positioning around a narrative pivot rather than a guaranteed long-term settlement. Corporate accumulation, ETF headlines, and relistings support higher visibility and liquidity, but they do not lock in future exchange support.
For privacy coins more broadly, the moment is big but fragile. Zcash’s resurgence shows that regulatory attitudes are not fixed. At the same time, history suggests acceptance is conditional. The balance of power still sits with regulators and centralized platforms, not with the assets themselves.
The comeback is real. Whether it lasts is still an open question.
Read also: ZEC Price Faces a Supply Squeeze as Zcash Tradable Coins Quietly Vanish
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