Amid the generally sluggish market, ZEC became the "dark horse" in everyone's eyes with a fierce surge.

Speaking of this round of market movement, we have to start from the end of September. At that time, ZEC was only $58, and no one paid attention. As a result, in the past two weeks, it skyrocketed to around $750, with a nearly 1200% increase. In the context of the entire crypto market, this number is indeed eye-catching—while Bitcoin and Ethereum are still entangled, ZEC has started its own rhythm.

The craziest part is that ZEC's market cap once surpassed $7 billion, overtaking Monero and becoming the 21st largest crypto asset globally. This is not just a game of price numbers; it reflects a revaluation of the entire privacy sector.

Why can ZEC perform so strongly? From my years of tracking the privacy coin sector, this surge didn't happen out of nowhere. The renewed recognition of privacy value, institutional capital entering, on-chain data support, and the concentrated release of market sentiment—these factors combined have created the current situation.

Breaking it down further, ZEC's contrarian performance best illustrates the point. Over the past week, ZEC has risen over 35%, while mainstream coins have been adjusting. This contrast alone indicates that ZEC has a special appeal in the eyes of capital. From market recognition of privacy value, to increasing institutional attention on this sector, and the continued positive on-chain data—each dimension is fueling this rally.