$ZEC The biggest current issue is the rapid surge and bubble, rising from a few tens of dollars to five or six hundred dollars, a short-term increase of ten times or more, entirely driven by capital and sentiment, not supported by real usage.

It appears to be a privacy coin, but in reality, 70% of transactions are still transparent, and very few people actually use the anonymity features. The so-called "privacy necessity" is more of a storytelling narrative. Regulation is the biggest risk: worldwide crackdown on privacy coins, with the EU, Japan, and South Korea all imposing restrictions. Many exchanges have already delisted or are preparing to delist, and once restrictions tighten fully, liquidity will collapse directly. Although the US has temporarily loosened restrictions, they could change their stance at any time, and ETF approval is not guaranteed.

Technologically, it’s also unstable; zero-knowledge proofs are too complex, having experienced several serious vulnerabilities, posing risks of sudden attacks or coin theft. Competitors are strong as well—Monero offers more thorough anonymity, and Ethereum layer 2 solutions are also working on privacy features. ZEC’s advantage isn’t as significant anymore.

This surge was mainly driven by institutional buy signals, short squeeze liquidations, and retail FOMO. It’s a one-time market move; no sustained capital followed afterward. Once the hype cools down, it’s easy for the price to revert to where it came from. A 50%–70% correction is very normal. So brothers who are currently trapped shouldn’t panic; this kind of rapid rise can just as easily turn into a waterfall. How it went up is how it will come down.