Zcash Rises 10% After SEC Closes Probe; $36.7M Treasury

Zcash (ZEC) climbed roughly 10% to near $580 after the Zcash Foundation reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed its review without recommending enforcement action. The foundation’s Q1 2026 report also disclosed about $36.7 million in liquid holdings at the end of March.

The report states the SEC informed foundation leadership in January that it does not intend to recommend enforcement action in the matter. The review began when foundation staff were served with a subpoena on Aug. 31, 2023, in a case designated SF-04569. The foundation said no penalties, fines, or mandatory changes were attached to the outcome and that it cooperated fully throughout the review.

The treasury disclosure showed ZEC accounted for roughly 58.6% of the foundation’s liquid holdings at the end of March. The report listed additional positions in Bitcoin, U.S. dollar reserves and a small ether holding. Average monthly operating expenses were reported at about $272,500, which the foundation said provides a multi-year runway to fund engineering work.

Operational activity continued during the period covered by the report. The foundation said blocks settled and transactions cleared normally. Engineering updates included several Zebra node releases, work on the Z3 stack, progress on FROST multi-party signing, and development work toward the planned NU7 network upgrade.

The Q1 report referenced earlier staff departures from Electric Coin Company that followed a governance dispute and noted the cash buffer is meaningful given those changes. The foundation published a post stating, “We are pleased to announce that the SEC has concluded its review and informed us that it does not intend to recommend any enforcement action or other changes against Zcash Foundation regarding this matter.”

Market activity for privacy-focused assets strengthened earlier in 2026 as institutional flows returned to the sector. Grayscale has identified Zcash among preferred private-asset exposures. Traders and market participants cited the timing of NU7 and the foundation’s treasury management as items to monitor going forward.