On Sept. 16, Zcash changed hands at $1,335.51. Back in February, the same coin could have been picked up for about $191. Looking at that climb, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss said it reminded him of 2019.
It’s a pointed comparison, and one that carries a lot of weight. To judge whether it fits, it’s worth recalling what 2019 was actually like for those who went through it.
What 2019 felt like
Bitcoin entered that year in rough shape. The speculative mania of 2017 had given way to a punishing bear market in 2018. Retail excitement had dried up and prices were depressed.
On Jan. 1, 2019, Bitcoin was worth roughly $3,693. It had rallied to around $13,000 by late June. It then surrendered part of that gain and went into 2020 at around $7,195.
On the chart, it was pure chaos. Yet those paying close attention weren’t chasing moonshots. Their focus was on custody and institutional infrastructure, and the wider industry was having that same discussion.
Winklevoss seems to be implying that Zcash now carries a similar vibe: turbulent on the surface, but serious at its core.
Zcash’s 2026 chart is not a straight line
Quote only the September peak and ZEC’s run looks tidy. The year as a whole tells a messier story.
Zcash started January around $511 before sliding into a sharp correction. February was even worse: ZEC dropped approximately 27% over the month and briefly traded around $191.
The first genuine breakout came in May. ZEC surged more than 60%, reached a monthly high above $680 and finished the month around $565.
August delivered another leg higher. Zcash gained roughly 85%, moving from approximately $457 to about $848. It was trading above $1,000 by early September and hit $1,335.51 on Sept. 16.
Anyone who bought in January and held through February saw most of their investment vanish before it recovered. That’s the piece of the 2019 comparison that tends to get overlooked.
An old coin with a new story
Zcash is hardly a newcomer. Its network went live in 2016 and relies on zero-knowledge proofs, which allow transactions to be validated without revealing their details.
For much of its existence, that made Zcash an uncomfortable asset to own. Privacy advocates supported it on principle, while some exchanges delisted privacy coins altogether amid regulatory scrutiny.
In 2026, sentiment reversed. Privacy returned as both a technology story and an investment theme, and Zcash rode that wave harder than any other coin in the category.
Gemini isn’t a neutral observer
Winklevoss’s remark is best weighed against his company’s history. Gemini has been linked to Zcash for years.
In 2018, after securing approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services, Gemini became the first licensed exchange to offer Zcash trading and custody. It added support for Zcash Unified Addresses in August 2025, and three months later brought in support for Orchard, Zcash’s newer privacy protocol.
Gemini rolled out a dedicated Zcash credit card on Jan. 27. Then, on Sept. 29, the exchange said the infrastructure it relies on to interact with the Zcash blockchain now runs on Zakura, a newer open-source full node written in Rust.
That’s a significant engineering commitment to a single asset. It lends Winklevoss genuine credibility when he discusses Zcash, but it also means his exchange stands to gain when people share his view.
The 2019 comparison holds value if you take it in full. That year, Bitcoin climbed from $3,693 to around $13,000 and still closed at roughly $7,195. If the September chart is your reason for buying ZEC, prepare for another February, not just a repeat of August.