Bitcoin or Zcash: Which Is the Better Buy After Zcash’s 26% Monthly Drop?
Zcash has surged over 400% in the past year while Bitcoin quietly dominates ETF flows at a scale no privacy coin can match. Before you decide which deserves a spot in your portfolio, there are some uncomfortable trade-offs worth examining.
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With Zcash (CRYPTO:ZEC) down 23.9% over the past month and trading at $1,236 as of today, many investors are weighing Bitcoin against Zcash. They are wondering whether Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), down 2.8% this month and trading at $81,858, is a better investment option.
Both cryptocurrencies faced challenges on October 22, with Bitcoin falling 3.3% and Zcash declining 7.6%. In the last 24 hours, Zcash’s price has fluctuated between $1,188 and $1,259, while Bitcoin has moved between $80,989 and $81,912.
Each coin boasts a notable price peak: Bitcoin reached $126,080 on October 6, 2025, while Zcash hit $3,192 on October 28, 2016. This raises the question: which coin is more likely to return to its previous high, and which is a better fit for different types of investors?
Zcash Needs a Far Bigger Rally Than Bitcoin to Reach Its High
Bitcoin holds the top position in the crypto market with a market value of around $1.64 trillion. With 20.1 million of its 21 million coins in circulation, it trades 35.1% below its all-time high. To reach that peak, Bitcoin would need to rise 54.0%, to a market cap of about $2.53 trillion.
On the other hand, Zcash, ranked 10th in market value at about $21.0 billion, is trading 61.3% below its all-time high. To return to its peak, Zcash would need to climb by 158.2%. However, reaching that high is more complex because of supply considerations.
Zcash set that high the week it launched, when only a small number of coins were in circulation. Currently, approximately 17.0 million ZEC are available. To match its high of $3,192, Zcash would need a valuation of about $54.3 billion, 2.6 times its current market value and more than it has ever been worth.
Zcash has seen impressive growth in the past year, surging by 400.6% and climbing 139.2% in 2026, while Bitcoin has dropped 26.2% over the same period and lost 7.2% this year.
Bitcoin ETF Flows Swung From $528 Million In to $635 Million Out
Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which hold actual Bitcoin, reflect investor interest through their daily inflows and outflows. As of October 22, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had net assets of $104.7 billion and cumulative inflows of $57.3 billion.
However, investment flows shifted notably. After experiencing inflows of $526.6 million on October 19 and $528.4 million on October 21, investors withdrew $635.5 million on October 22, marking the largest single-day outflow since September 23. Despite this, cumulative inflows remained above $57 billion, suggesting that long-term investors are holding steady.
Additionally, public companies that invest in Bitcoin generally have the capacity to buy at a scale that Zcash cannot match. Bitcoin has also risen 26.3% over the past 90 days, despite recent declines.
Zcash’s NU7 Upgrade Targets a November 5 Mainnet Launch
Zcash is preparing for its next upgrade, NU7, with a mainnet launch targeted for November 5. This upgrade will reduce the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, allowing faster transaction confirmations. It also introduces a reserve of 60% of transaction fees, held until February 2031.
On October 4, NU7 went live on Zcash’s testnet, where coins have no market value. In the coinholder vote, 98.9% supported maintaining the existing halving schedule. However, the final decision on NU7’s activation is still pending.
So far, exchanges, wallets, and funds have not announced any plans related to the NU7 upgrade. Additionally, the fee reserve system mainly delays when those coins reach miners since the total supply of ZEC remains capped at 21 million.
Bitcoin or Zcash: Which Is the Better Buy?
For most investors, Bitcoin is likely the better choice because it offers a more stable risk-reward profile. Although neither cryptocurrency appears poised to regain its previous highs by the end of 2026, Bitcoin had $24.8 billion in 24-hour trading volume, compared with Zcash’s $806 million.
This larger volume enables Bitcoin to absorb substantial sell orders with less dramatic price swings, which helps explain why Zcash fell 7.6% on October 22 while Bitcoin fell 3.3%.
Investors drawn to Zcash should be prepared for the volatility that comes with accepting a 23.9% monthly drop while potentially enjoying a 400.6% annual increase. For Zcash, a key milestone will be successfully activating the NU7 upgrade on November 5, followed by a close back above $1,498, its September 23 price. Conversely, Bitcoin’s crucial test will involve moving above $84,378 while cumulative ETF inflows surpass $58.0 billion.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
