TL;DR

Zcash multiplied its value seventeenfold, reaching $750 before correcting to $610, driven by rumors linking it to Satoshi Nakamoto.
A viral video of developer Daira-Emma Hopwood reignited theories about her possible connection to Bitcoin’s creator.
ZEC’s resurgence coincides with renewed demand for privacy coins amid new European regulations and growing distrust toward centralized stablecoins.

Zcash has surged seventeenfold since September, drawing fresh attention from the market. The token climbed from $40 to $750, fueled by an unexpected debate over the identity of one of its developers and a wave of speculation linking the project to Bitcoin’s origins. The token has since pulled back to $610, down 6.5% over the past 24 hours.

The discussion began after an old video of cryptographer Daira-Emma Hopwood, a longtime Zcash developer, went viral on X. Some users mistakenly claimed she was the project’s founder, triggering a series of transphobic comments and renewed theories connecting her work to that of Satoshi Nakamoto. Interest in the story spread quickly, coinciding with ZEC’s strongest rally since 2018.

The Alleged Link Between Zcash and Satoshi Nakamoto

The controversy prompted several analysts to revisit Hopwood’s background. Before joining Zcash, she published research on privacy and cryptographic techniques such as key blinding and group signatures—concepts that also appeared in early forum discussions where Satoshi explored Bitcoin’s architecture. One archived post even directly cites one of her papers. This overlap, along with her British origin and writing style, has fueled speculation that Hopwood may have had contact with Nakamoto or influenced his thinking.

At the same time, part of the crypto community has begun portraying Zcash as a truer version of Bitcoin’s original vision: a decentralized network built around privacy and financial sovereignty. That narrative has resonated with users who see today’s market as dominated by speculative tokens and increasingly centralized blockchains. Others, however, argue that ZEC is not fully private and question its governance model, where a small group of validators holds most of the decision-making power.

Privacy Returns to the Center of the Debate

After reaching its peak, ZEC’s price corrected by roughly 30%, falling to $513 before rebounding to its current $610 level. Even so, its performance remains well above the broader market. According to data from CryptoQuant, much of the rally has been driven by retail traders drawn to the narrative and to the idea of returning to Bitcoin’s ideological roots.

Zcash’s revival comes at a time when privacy has once again become a central issue. New European regulations under the MiCA framework and growing skepticism toward centralized stablecoins have reignited interest in anonymity-preserving assets—an environment in which ZEC seems to have found the perfect conditions for a comeback

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Filed under: News - @ November 10, 2025 4:33 pm