Zcash (ZEC) extended its strong monthly rally on Sept. 17, with the privacy-focused token trading around $1,350-$1,360 after gaining roughly 18% over 24 hours. The move pushed ZEC's market capitalization above $22 billion and followed the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 rate decision — the kind of macro event risk-asset traders watch closely, since rate policy sets the liquidity backdrop for crypto and equities alike. The advance also coincided with fresh whale activity and notable developments in Zcash's governance process. In all, ZEC has now gained approximately 166% over the past month, substantially outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum during that period.

ZCash Rally Extends to 168% on the Monthly Chart

Over the last 24 hours, the ZCash price added another 18%, extending its monthly gains to 168%. That represents an overwhelming stretch of multi-fold returns, outperforming giants like BTC and ETH along the way. With the rally, ZEC has secured a place among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, carrying a market capitalization of $22.2 billion — a tier usually occupied by the market's largest and longest-established assets, and a striking perch for a privacy-focused token whose core feature is shielding transaction details through zero-knowledge cryptography.

The recent surge came as the broader crypto market reacted positively to the Fed's rate decision. Analyst Eric Van Tassel noted, in a post on X, that following breakout of the downward channel, the ZEC price rally could extend further, with a target of $1,700.

Institutional activity is also drawing attention. Recent transfers worth $30 million moved through Grayscale wallets, suggesting that institutional demand for ZCash remains strong. On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence shows multiple transfers of 25,000 ZEC, worth roughly $30 million each, between wallets labeled as belonging to Grayscale. The transactions appear to be internal wallet movements rather than confirmed open-market purchases — a distinction that matters, because asset managers routinely move coins between custody wallets, and only verified open-market purchases count as fresh buying. Even so, the activity comes just days after DCG contributed 85,705 ZEC, worth approximately $100 million, to acquire shares of the Zcash ETF, further underscoring that institutional involvement around ZCash is picking up.

Whale Accumulation Supports the ZEC Price Rally

On-chain data shows that one ZCash whale has been accumulating steadily across top exchanges such as Binance, Kraken and OKX. According to Arkham Intelligence, the whale accumulated and withdrew 15,300 ZEC coins, worth a staggering $17.92 million, over the last two days. Withdrawals of this kind are closely tracked because coins that leave exchange wallets drop out of reserves — the pool of supply most readily available for immediate sale.

The picture is different on the short side. Garrett Jin, described as the largest on-chain ZEC short whale, is now down more than $26 million on his position. Jin added to his ZEC short 11 hours ago and now holds a 37,760 ZEC short worth approximately $51.5 million. The position's liquidation price stands at $2,631.53, according to Lookonchain. At current spot levels, ZEC would need to nearly double before reaching that threshold, leaving a clearly visible marker for anyone tracking the trade as the market digests the rally.

Zcash Holders Vote to Cut Block Time to 25 Seconds

Zcash holders have voted in favor of reducing the network's block target spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds under the proposed NU7 upgrade. Nearly 2.4 million ZEC participated in the vote, with 99.9% backing the 25-second block time over the current 75 seconds. The vote also showed 98.9% support for retaining Zcash's existing Bitcoin-style halving schedule.

The proposed reduction in block time could enable faster transaction confirmations — shorter waits for a first confirmation in everyday use — while retaining the current halving schedule would preserve Zcash's existing monetary policy, since halving events set the pace at which new coins are issued. The NU7 upgrade still requires implementation and activation before the changes take effect, making those engineering and network milestones the next markers to watch.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments involve risk, and whale movements, governance votes or technical targets do not guarantee future price performance.

Originally reported by The Market Periodical.