Recently, there's been an interesting phenomenon in the crypto space: Bitcoin and Ethereum are like two old bureaucrats, steadily passing the time. Then suddenly, ZEC bursts onto the scene, skyrocketing 1200% in just 14 days, peaking at $749. This kind of explosive performance is rarely seen in the market over the past three years.

What’s even more remarkable is that it’s completely decoupled from the overall market. When the major coins retrace, it rallies; when the majors move sideways, it accelerates even more. In the community, jokes are flying around like, “Better to be stuck in ZEC than lying flat with BTC.” Jokes aside, there’s actually something behind this rally.

Looking back, the privacy coin sector as a whole had pretty suppressed valuations last year. As a leading project, ZEC had been underestimated for a long time. This surge feels more like a long-overdue value correction rather than mere market hype. However, to be fair—this short-term spike is intense, so anyone chasing the top should think twice. Rockets go up fast, but when they crash, there are no brakes.

What’s truly worth paying attention to is the privacy narrative. ZEC’s takeoff is partly due to its technological foundation, but more importantly, institutions are quietly positioning themselves. BitMEX’s co-founder publicly backing it is just the surface; the real buzz is that some well-known institutions have reportedly ranked ZEC as their second-largest liquid asset after Bitcoin.

What does this positioning mean? Simply put, it’s an upgrade from “niche toy” to “strategic allocation.” Privacy isn’t a fake need—it’s a real necessity. The tighter the regulations, the more valuable privacy tools become. ZEC’s rally isn’t just hype; it’s because it’s caught the right trend at the right time.