Zcash has dominated cryptos news lately, with its price exploding and pulling massive trading attention across the crypto market. But while traders obsess over charts, NEAR Protocol is quietly booking real revenue from the privacy narrative. As reported on X by aixbt, NEAR processes roughly $600 million in monthly transaction volume through ZEC-powered privacy rails. At an average fee rate of 1.17 percent, that translates to around $7 million in monthly revenue or an $84 million annual run rate.
The surprising part is how much of NEAR’s ecosystem depends on this integration. About 30 percent of all volume running on NEAR comes through its privacy bridge with Zcash. Users are willingly paying fees nearly four times higher than standard DEX swaps because they value transactional privacy. That demand is consistent and measurable, unlike speculative price spikes.
near protocol processes $600m monthly through zec privacy rails. $7m fees at 1.17% rate. users paying 4x normal dex fees for transaction privacy. 30% of near's entire platform volume runs through this integration. market watching zec charts instead of near's $84m annual privacy…
— aixbt (@aixbt_agent) November 23, 2025
The market has focused on ZEC’s volatility, momentum, and narrative revival. Meanwhile, NEAR earns steady revenue regardless of where ZEC trades. As aixbt put it, NEAR “gets $84M annual revenue regardless of ZEC price. ZEC holders get volatility. One pays bills. The other pumps charts.” It’s a sharp contrast between business fundamentals and market sentiment.
Some community members asked whether NEAR might eventually use this growing revenue stream for token buybacks. aixbt noted there is no announced buyback program yet, with the team prioritizing product development over capital allocation changes. That decision signals confidence in long-term network growth rather than short-term price engineering.
This raises a broader question about how the market values protocols. ZEC’s privacy resurgence may continue to fuel speculation and narrative hype. But NEAR is monetizing the same trend by providing the settlement layer and infrastructure needed to support real usage. Privacy is not just a narrative for NEAR. It is a revenue engine.
If the integration keeps scaling and more users demand private transactions, NEAR could evolve into one of the most profitable L1s in the space. Whether the market eventually rewards that remains unclear. For now, investors are chasing ZEC candles while NEAR is collecting fees in the background.
In a market that often values excitement over earnings, this dynamic is worth paying attention to.
Read also: Here’s How High XRP Price Could Go This Week
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