Zcash surged more than 20% as cryptocurrencies and global equities climbed following the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase since 2023. Bitcoin moved above $76,000 after investors took some reassurance from projections suggesting the Fed does not expect an aggressive tightening cycle. Zcash received an additional lift as Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang described the privacy-focused cryptocurrency as a complement to bitcoin and disclosed that his firm owns ZEC.
ZEC outpaces major cryptocurrencies
Over 24 hours, ZEC jumped 23% to trade near $1,369, making it one of the strongest performers during the broader crypto rebound. Bitcoin gained less than 1% to around $76,258, while Solana climbed nearly 3% to just below $100. BNB and Hyperliquid’s HYPE added more than 2%, with ether, XRP and dogecoin rising between 1% and 2%.
ZEC’s move coincided with comments from Huang, who called Zcash “a private complement to Bitcoin” and supported continued funding for its developers. Unlike bitcoin’s transparent blockchain transactions, Zcash allows payments without publicly revealing the sender, recipient or amount. Holders recently backed proposals aimed at speeding up payments while preserving scheduled reductions in new coin creation similar to bitcoin’s halvings.
Markets look past Fed rate hike
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4%. Higher rates can pressure speculative assets by making borrowing more expensive while increasing the appeal of interest-bearing alternatives.
Markets had largely anticipated the increase, according to ViaBTC chief analyst Jeff Ko. Fed projections put the median policy rate at 4.1% at the end of both 2026 and 2027, consistent with one additional quarter-point increase this year.
Investors also pushed equities higher following the decision. S&P 500 futures gained 0.6%, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7% and Asian equities added 0.3%, while the two-year Treasury yield slipped two basis points to 4.71%. The reaction suggests investors were focused less on the rate increase itself and more on signs that further tightening could remain limited.
