F2Pool co-founder says Zcash rally is narrative, not fundamentals

Zcash hit roughly $1,130 on September 8, 2026, capping a run that saw ZEC gain more than 2,300% over the prior year. Wang Chun, co-founder of mining pool F2Pool, publicly characterized the move as a “narrative short squeeze,” a price surge powered by exchange listings, speculative momentum, and forced short covering rather than any meaningful change in how Zcash actually gets used. What pushed ZEC to these levels The clearest catalyst was Grayscale converting its Zcash Trust into a U.S.-listed spot ETF in August 2026. The 24-hour trading volume on September 8 sat at approximately $3.18 billion, which is not a number typically associated with organic user growth in a privacy coin network. Chun’s concern is that Zcash’s market cap, at these levels, becomes comparable to networks like Solana and Hyperliquid. The optional nature of Zcash’s shielded transactions means the majority of ZEC has historically circulated through transparent addresses, the same kind anyone can inspect on a standard block explorer. A history of structural problems Chun also pointed to the Founder Rewards mechanism baked into Zcash’s original design. For the network’s first four years, 20% of every block reward ...