The privacy coin Zcash jumped over 17% in six hours, hitting a new year-to-date high on May 20. The rally pushed its monthly gains past 90% and its market capitalization over the $11 billion threshold, eclipsing rival monero.

Key Takeaways
On May 20, privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged over 17% in six hours to cross an $11 billion market cap.
The ZEC rally triggered $28.25 million in liquidations and saw it eclipse rival token Monero.
To enter the top 10 crypto assets, ZEC must hit $1,000 to flip DOGE’s $16.25 billion valuation.
Zcash Hits New YTD High

Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged to a new year-to-date high on May 20 amid a tepid cryptocurrency rally that also saw bitcoin briefly reclaim $78,000. Market data show ZEC jumped from $568 to an intraday peak of $686 in just over six hours, an increase of more than 17% over a 24-hour window.

Although it later retreated slightly, the privacy coin was still above $660 at the time of writing at 3:18 a.m. EST on May 21, leaving its daily gains well above 10%. ZEC’s latest surge lifted its weekly gains just above 25% and more than 90% since the beginning of the month. As a consequence, the privacy coin, which kicked off the month with an aggregate value of under $6 billion, saw its market cap surpass the $11 billion threshold.

In the meantime, ZEC’s latest parabolic rally saw $28.25 million in leveraged positions on the asset liquidated over 24 hours, the second highest this year. Coinglass data show liquidated short bets accounted for nearly $26.5 million, with the largest single liquidation of $2.68 million recorded.

Since early May, ZEC’s value has climbed steadily, fueled by high-profile endorsements from advocates who view it as the true embodiment of financial privacy—a trait critics argue bitcoin has lost. This renewed privacy narrative, coupled with an architecture widely considered superior to its rivals, helped ZEC eclipse Monero, which held a $7.3 billion market cap at the time of writing.

ZEC’s resurgence has even caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which recently dubbed the token a “more secret version of bitcoin.” Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale contends that financial privacy will define the next crypto cycle, with ZEC leading the charge.

On social media, some supporters of the privacy coin, like David Hoffman, believe ZEC — currently ranked 13th — deserves a spot in the top 10 digital assets by market cap. However, for the privacy coin to achieve that, its price will have to surpass the $1,000 threshold to overtake DOGE, whose market cap stood at $16.25 billion. The last time ZEC traded above $1,000 was in the fourth quarter of 2016.

ZEC Spikes 17% to $686 as Ted Pillows Warns Zcash Rally Masks Short Squeeze
Alex Gladstein’s May 20 X post on Zcash
Meanwhile, some critics see risks associated with the privacy coin’s sudden surge. Ted Pillows argued that the jump was, in fact, a short squeeze disguised as organic demand.

“Zcash hasn’t suddenly solved adoption, liquidity, or regulatory headwinds overnight,” Pillows said in a post on X. “This looks far more like a coordinated squeeze than organic demand. Low float + thin liquidity + aggressive perp positioning = violent upside candles.”

#ZEC #Zcash #Crypto #PrivacyCoin #Bitcoin #Blockchain #Trading #Altcoins #Monero #DeFi

👩‍⚕️ กระทรวงสาธารณสุขประกาศยกระดับเฝ้าระวังโรค “อีโบลา”
สำหรับผู้เดินทางจาก 2 ประเทศเสี่ยง
ได้แก่ “สาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยคองโก” และ “ยูกันดา”

โดยมีผลตั้งแต่วันนี้ 21 พฤษภาคม 2026
พร้อมเพิ่มมาตรการคัดกรองเข้มงวดทั้งสนามบิน ด่านชายแดน
และระบบติดตามผู้เดินทางเข้าไทย

⛑︎ หลังทั่วโลกพบผู้ต้องสงสัยติดเชื้อพุ่งกว่า 600 ราย
หลายประเทศเริ่มเฝ้าระวังใกล้ชิด
เนื่องจาก “อีโบลา” เป็นโรคติดต่อร้ายแรงที่มีอัตราการเสียชีวิตสูง
และสามารถแพร่ผ่านการสัมผัสสารคัดหลั่งของผู้ติดเชื้อได้

⚠️ เตือนภัยประชาชน
⋆ หลีกเลี่ยงเดินทางไปพื้นที่เสี่ยงหากไม่จำเป็น
⋆ หมั่นล้างมือ และสวมหน้ากากในพื้นที่แออัด
⋆ หากมีไข้สูง อ่อนเพลีย หรือมีประวัติเสี่ยง ควรรีบพบแพทย์ทันที
⋆ ติดตามประกาศจากกระทรวงสาธารณสุขอย่างใกล้ชิด

😷 แม้ไทยยังไม่พบผู้ติดเชื้อ แต่การป้องกันตั้งแต่วันนี้
คือเกราะสำคัญที่สุดก่อนสถานการณ์จะลุกลาม

“โรคระบาดอาจเดินทางข้ามโลกได้ในไม่กี่ชั่วโมง…
แต่ความประมาทของคน อาจทำให้มันอยู่กับเราไปอีกนาน”

🏷️ #อีโบลา #โรคระบาด #กระทรวงสาธารณสุข #Ebola #DRCongo #Uganda
#AnimalverseMeme #Animalverse #AnimalverseClub #AVC #AVCToken

Lisa Su, chair and chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), during the 2026 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.

Bridget Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

AMD on Thursday said it will invest more than $10 billion across Taiwan’s semiconductor and AI ecosystem to advance chip production and performance.

Taiwan is at the center of the semiconductor industry because of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chip manufacturer, which makes products for the most valuable companies in the world from Nvidia to Apple.

AMD has been a beneficiary of the continued heavy spending on AI infrastructure with its shares doubling so far this year as it looks to step up competition to rival Nvidia, which itself reported blowout earnings on Wednesday.

“Working with strategic partners in Taiwan and globally, AMD is advancing leading-edge silicon, packaging and manufacturing technologies that enable higher performance, greater efficiency and faster deployment of AI systems,” the company said in a press release.

The investments will focus on partnerships with companies to “advance” chip packaging and manufacturing required for next-generation AI infrastructure.

AMD said it is collaborating with Taiwan-based ASE and SPIL on areas such as the technology that links chips together, which can improve their performance efficiency.

The innovations are designed to support the deployment of Helios, its AI server system in the second half of 2026, the company said.

Sanmina, Wiwynn, Wistron and Inventec are among the partners that AMD named as helping to build Helios.

#AMD #AI #Taiwan #Semiconductor #Chips #Technology #Nvidia #TSMC #DataCenter #Innovation