Fed Hikes Rates, Zcash Surges 23% and Decouples from Bitcoin

Zcash decoupled from the market, gaining 23% in the last 24 hours as Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies rose.

Zcash (ZEC) surged during the crypto recovery despite the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike since 2023. According to CoinDesk data, ZEC was trading around $1,369 in early Asian trading.

Bitcoin’s price rose less than 1% to reach the $76,258 level, while Zcash’s move was significantly stronger. Solana traded just below $100, rising nearly 3%. BNB and HYPE gained more than 2%. Ether, XRP, and dogecoin rose between 1% and 2%.

Paradigm’s ZEC Ownership Comes Into Focus as Zcash Rises

The surge in ZEC coincided with statements from Matt Huang, co-founder of crypto investment firm Paradigm. Huang described Zcash as “Bitcoin’s privacy complement” and revealed that Paradigm holds ZEC.

Zcash allows the sender, receiver, and transfer amount in payments to remain private. Zcash holders recently supported proposals to speed up transactions and continue planned reductions in new coin production. These reductions are similar to Bitcoin’s halving mechanism.

Huang also advocated for continued funding for developers. He stated that changes to the network should be evaluated through various decision-making methods rather than just coin-holder votes.

Fed Hikes Rates, But Cryptocurrencies Rise

The Federal Reserve raised the policy rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4%. ViaBTC head analyst Jeff Ko noted that the hike was largely priced in, signaling that the Fed does not currently foresee an aggressive tightening cycle.

Following the rate decision, S&P 500 futures rose 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7%. Asian markets also increased by 0.3%, while the yield on the U.S. two-year Treasury note fell two basis points to 4.71%.