Zcash spearheaded the latest altcoin rally with rapid intraday swings and sharp gains that spilled over to Monero. DoubleZero’s jump followed a clear regulatory signal from the SEC, pairing fast price action with a legal cue that shifted risk appetite for traders, builders, and regulators.
Zcash led the rally with intraday moves between 20% and 76%, lifting its price to $169–$182. It printed a 29% leap and volatile spikes after the team said it will switch to Proof-of-Stake, a developer note that sparked buys and steered capital toward privacy tokens. Monero, where every transaction stays private, copied part of the move with a 10–20% overnight gain that parked it near $235; it now trades at $229.53 but also holds a floor at $235, a level that shows steady demand for anonymous coins.
DoubleZero jumped after the SEC issued a No‑Action Letter on 29 Sep 2025 and opened mainnet beta on 2 Oct 2025. It also closed a $28 million raise in March 2025, and its dzSOL vault already locks 22% of all staked SOL. Taken together, these threads display both uptake and legal risk across different slices of the market.
Implications and outlook
The mix of price gains and legal clearance can steer ETF cash and institutional funds toward altcoins that either serve a function or carry a regulatory stamp. For Zcash, the move to PoS alongside its option to toggle between transparent and shielded transfers gives a relative compliance edge that may ease exchange listings and institutional take up.
Monero’s hard‑wired privacy draws buyers but also raises oversight risk, a tension that underlines by pointing to planned EU limits. DoubleZero shows how a regulatory green light can reset risk views—the SEC letter or quick uptake on Solana—22% of SOL sits in dzSOL—cuts friction for integrations and for absorbing staking inflows.
Synchronized price climbs, consensus shifts, and regulatory wins set up a two‑track altcoin season—price speed and demand for legal safety. The next checkpoints are the live launch of Zcash’s PoS chain and the staking or listing steps that follow DoubleZero’s SEC letter.
