Zcash surged by 47.1% in 24 hours on 22 August to lead a broad altcoin rally, with Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Dogecoin and Chainlink also recording double-digit gains as optimism over US regulation and increased Treasury liquidity lifted the cryptocurrency market.
The privacy-focused Zcash (ZEC) climbed as high as $836 before giving up some of those gains and settling near $810. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was also among the strongest performers, rising 31.4% over the same period to reach $299.49.
Zcash has been the standout performer of the year so far. Its latest rise follows a 13% gain on 21 August, when it reached an intraday high of $663 and its market capitalisation approached $10.8bn.
A key factor behind the rally has been Grayscale’s proposal to convert its Zcash Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). If approved, it would become the first privacy coin ETF in the United States.
The move has provided a recurring source of momentum for Zcash, although its recent advance has also been marked by sharp volatility. Earlier this month, the token reached $686 before coordinated selling led to $28m in liquidations.
The gains extended well beyond privacy-focused assets. Cardano (ADA) rose 19% to $0.2563, while Dogecoin (DOGE) and WhiteBIT Token (WBT) both increased by 17.7%. Stellar (XLM) gained 16.2%, Chainlink (LINK) added 13.3%, and Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose 11.9% to $81.50.
Layer-one tokens, payment-related cryptocurrencies and decentralised exchange infrastructure projects all moved higher within a similar period. That broad-based pattern indicated that the rally was more likely to reflect a market-wide injection of liquidity than momentum around one individual project.
Hyperliquid’s advance came as its decentralised exchange continued to attract attention for its perpetual futures trading volume and token buyback mechanism. The platform also received recognition from the President at a recent White House crypto gathering.
Cardano’s rise formed part of a wider week of gains for the network. Traders have been positioning for greater clarity over US policy, with ADA recording double-digit gains on both daily and weekly measures.
The wider market was supported by renewed enthusiasm from US President Donald Trump for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Sentiment was also helped by a Treasury Department announcement that it would expand buybacks of longer-dated bonds.
The move eased yields and released additional liquidity into risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. That followed an earlier leg of the market rally, during which Ethereum rose 18% to $2,250.
Ethereum also moved above $2,000 for the first time in more than two months, reaching a peak of $2,112 after the US Treasury announcement.
Analysts have warned, however, that rapid and widespread altcoin rallies are often accompanied by heavy leverage. That can magnify gains during the advance, but it can also deepen losses if prices reverse.
Trading volumes in the cryptocurrencies that rallied also increased sharply alongside their prices. That suggested the move was supported by genuine buying activity rather than being driven solely by thin weekend liquidity.
For now, buyers appear to remain in control, supported by expectations surrounding the Clarity Act, greater Treasury liquidity and renewed institutional interest in privacy-focused assets.
The next significant test could come if Congress makes tangible progress on cryptocurrency market-structure legislation in the coming weeks. Traders expect such progress could help extend the rally.
