Privacy Coin Zcash Just Hit an 8-Year High. Here's Why I'm Bullish on ZEC in 2026.

I'm bullish on Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC) for the rest of 2026 and beyond. I know that demand for financial privacy is only going to increase, and that the coin has a supply policy that's heavily inspired by Bitcoin. The coin briefly reached a price of $888 in late August 2026, its highest price since 2018, capping an impressive run-up of 1,968% over the last 12 months. Over the long run, the returns could be even higher.

I sold my initial stake in Zcash in June 2026, after its developers disclosed that they'd patched a flaw that could have minted counterfeit coins invisibly. I've since started to repurchase my position, and I plan to buy more once there's a dip. Here's why I'm back to being bullish about this coin.

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80% of the Zcash that can ever exist is already in circulation

Zcash mimics Bitcoin's supply policies in that it has regular halvings after which supply gets much harder to mine, and it also has a limit of 21 million ZEC that can ever exist. About 16.9 million ZEC are circulating as of August 2026, or about 80% of the total, and the next halving will occur in November 2028.

Yet an increasing degree of scarcity alone isn't enough to drive its value or its price higher. Zcash has lures to solve that -- the privacy of its account balances and the possibility of private transmission of money. These help ensure that there will be a baseline level of demand for the coin, which will consistently force buyers to compete with each other over a limited supply.

Privacy is only going to become a more valuable financial good

It's normal to want to keep your finances private. The more wealth someone has, the bigger an advantage they can derive from keeping knowledge about their wealth away from the public eye.

Our current age is yielding wealth disparities that only seem to get bigger over time. Therefore, as wealth continues to concentrate, I expect that more people will be willing to pay for the financial tools that can keep their money private. Zcash is among the largest assets that can serve that role globally.

There is one issue that has only been partially addressed.

Zcash's privacy features make it impossible to determine whether a bug in the protocol was used to mint counterfeit ZEC. June's patch was an emergency measure, and July's Ironwood upgrade implemented a permanent fix, which means the risk of ongoing fraudulent new issuance is now fully defused. But there hasn't yet been any proof that the bug was never used, so there could technically be more ZEC in existence than what's currently known.

I'll be accumulating more of this coin whenever it's a bit cheaper than it is presently. Aside from Monero, it doesn't have much in the way of real competition in crypto, and it's providing a real privacy capability during a time when that capability will be more needed than ever.

Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool recommends Monero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.