Zcash (ZEC) Just Lost Its Top-10 Spot to Hyperliquid. Can the NU7 Upgrade Win It Back?

Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC) has fallen out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market value, now ranked 11th after Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE) surpassed it, up 16.5% over the past week. Zcash was ranked 11th, having held the 10th spot on October 28, 2026.

Currently, ZEC is trading at $1,224, down 3.9% in the last 24 hours and down 14.9% over the past 30 days. The coin has experienced significant price fluctuations, reaching a high of $1,438 on September 30 and dropping to a low of $1,126 on October 17. Zcash, known for its privacy features, obscures sender details and transaction amounts, while HYPE serves as the token for a decentralized futures exchange.

Zcash holders are looking ahead, especially with the upcoming NU7 upgrade, which Zcash announced on October 30 is approaching. Can NU7 help ZEC reclaim its spot in the top 10?

ZEC Needs to Reach About $1,283 to Surpass Hyperliquid

To determine market value, we multiply the price by the number of coins in circulation. Currently, Hyperliquid’s market cap is around $21.8 billion, while Zcash’s market cap is about $20.8 billion, meaning ZEC needs to close a gap of about $1 billion. If HYPE’s price stays stable, ZEC needs a 4.8% increase to catch up.

With around 17 million ZEC coins in circulation, ZEC needs to reach about $1,283 to match Hyperliquid’s market value. In the past 24 hours, ZEC briefly traded above this threshold, hitting a high of $1,392.

Although ZEC’s record price may seem high, it is somewhat misleading. The coin peaked at $3,192 on its first trading day, October 28, 2016, when only a small fraction of current coins were available. Today, ZEC trades at 61.7% below that record, but its market cap has grown significantly as more coins have entered circulation.

Similarly, supply growth is benefiting Hyperliquid. Approximately 239 million HYPE tokens are currently circulating out of a maximum of 1 billion. The fully diluted market value, which represents the total market cap if all tokens were available, is about $87 billion. This means that as more HYPE tokens unlock, Hyperliquid’s market cap could rise even without price changes, affecting the price ZEC needs to aim for.

NU7 Proposes a 25-Second Block Time, but Its Testnet Launch Did Not Lift ZEC

The NU7 upgrade is based on ZIP 259, a Zcash proposal that aims to improve the network. This upgrade will reduce the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, enabling faster payment confirmations. It will also allocate 60% of transaction fees back to miners as rewards, starting in February 2031.

As part of the upgrade, support for the older version 4 transactions will end, affecting 22,309 ZEC (approximately $27 million) still held in Zcash’s original privacy pool, known as Sprout. The proposal indicates that the upgrade will activate at block 3,543,405 on the main network, but its current status is still labeled as Proposed, with no activation date provided.

The last step of the NU7 upgrade also did not positively impact ZEC’s price. When NU7 first went live on the testnet—a practice network where coins have no real value—ZEC fell from $1,352 on October 4 to $1,110 by October 8.

Fund Inflows Are Small, and Hyperliquid Keeps Raising the Price ZEC Needs

The Grayscale Zcash ETF (NYSEARCA: ZCSH), which holds ZEC and trades similarly to a stock, reported an inflow of $14.8 million on October 29. This amount represented roughly 1% of ZEC’s $1.55 billion 24-hour trading volume, yet ZEC still declined by 3.9% over the past day.

However, fund inflows have historically influenced prices. For example, a $3.68 million inflow on October 14 ended a three-week stretch with no fund inflows and led to an 8% increase in ZEC over 24 hours.

Currently, HYPE is trading at $91, 7% below its all-time high of $98 on September 23, and has appreciated about 258% throughout 2026. Every increase in HYPE’s price pushes up the target price ZEC needs to hit to catch up.

Can the NU7 Upgrade Help Zcash Reclaim Its Top 10 Position?

ZEC could reasonably regain its 10th place before the end of the year, but the NU7 upgrade might not be the key factor. A 4.8% increase is achievable for ZEC, which has moved significantly in a single day; it recently dropped 3.9% in a day and has traded as high as $1,392.

First, ZEC needs to climb above $1,283, then surpass its 50-day average of $1,306, which is about 6.7% above its current price.

The NU7 upgrade needs to be successfully activated at block 3,543,405, without repeating the price drop seen during the testnet phase. If ZEC closes below the $1,126 low from October 17—8% below the current price—selling pressure could keep Zcash from reclaiming its place in the top 10, allowing Hyperliquid to remain ahead throughout 2026.

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