Zcash Surges 23% as Bitcoin and Major Tokens Rally After Fed Rate Hike

Bitcoin remained above $76,000 as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s indication that only limited additional tightening may be ahead. Meanwhile, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang highlighted Zcash as a privacy-focused complement to Bitcoin.

Zcash’s ZEC token climbed 23% over the previous 24 hours as Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies advanced during overnight trading into Thursday’s Asian session. The crypto gains came alongside a rebound in stock futures after the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate increase since 2023.

ZEC was trading around $1,369, while Bitcoin gained less than 1% to approximately $76,258. Solana rose nearly 3% to just under $100. BNB and HYPE, the native token of crypto trading platform Hyperliquid, each advanced more than 2%. Ether, XRP and Dogecoin also posted gains of between 1% and 2%.

ZEC’s rally followed remarks from Matt Huang, co-founder of crypto investment firm Paradigm. In a post on X, Huang described Zcash as a privacy complement to Bitcoin and disclosed that Paradigm holds ZEC.

Zcash allows users to make transactions without publicly exposing the identities of the sender and recipient or the amount transferred. Zcash holders recently approved proposals aimed at speeding up transactions while retaining scheduled reductions in the rate at which new coins are created, a mechanism similar to Bitcoin’s supply halvings.

Huang, whose firm owns ZEC, referred to Zcash as “a private complement to Bitcoin.” He backed continued financial support for the project’s developers but said governance should combine token-holder voting with additional mechanisms for determining changes to the network.

The wider cryptocurrency recovery followed the Fed’s decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing the target range to 3.75%–4%.

Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs and can limit the capital flowing into speculative assets. They can also make cash and government bonds more attractive relative to Bitcoin, which does not generate income simply from being held.

However, crypto prices can still rise after an anticipated rate hike if investors become more confident that the central bank is nearing the end of its tightening cycle. The Fed’s median projection showed the policy rate at 4.1% at the end of both 2026 and 2027, implying one additional quarter-point increase this year.

Jeff Ko, chief analyst at ViaBTC, said in an email that Wednesday’s rate increase had largely been priced into markets.

“To me, the Fed is signaling that it does not currently envisage an aggressive tightening cycle, while markets appear reassured by its efforts to contain inflation.”

U.S. equity futures also moved higher, with S&P 500 futures gaining 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.7%. Asian equities added 0.3%. Meanwhile, the two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve policy, fell two basis points to 4.71% after reaching its highest level since 2024 in the previous session.

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