Author: Nancy, PANews
The "strong whale coin" ZEC has risen again.
From a low of around $200 this year to nearly $1,500 today, ZEC has experienced an extremely strong rally, leaving little room for the market to catch its breath. As the price continues to rise, ZEC’s market momentum has steadily increased, reestablishing this veteran privacy coin as one of the most prominent assets in the recent crypto market.
As the coin price continues to rise, capital and attention are flowing back into the Zcash ecosystem, with several NFT projects recently gaining market popularity.
PNews highlights eight popular NFT projects that have already been launched or are set to be released soon. Some of these NFTs have generated millions of views on Twitter, while auction volumes for others have reached tens of millions of dollars. Each project offers unique mechanics and positioning—some focus on privacy identity and community culture, while others introduce real-world use cases and revenue-sharing mechanisms for NFTs.
zkSNARKs
zkSNARKs is a privacy identity collection project with a total supply of 10,000. Of these, 8,000 are being sold through a public blind auction, 1,000 are allocated to early Snarklist members, and 1,000 are reserved in the treasury for community grants, contributors, artists, and the team.
The name zkSNARKs comes from the cryptographic technology zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) underlying Zcash, which allows users to prove that certain information or transactions meet specific conditions without revealing the underlying data. Zcash has previously used this technology for shielded transactions and has advanced zero-knowledge proofs through innovations such as Halo 2.
Unlike regular NFTs, the key feature of zkSNARKs is that identity and ownership information are private by default, preventing external users from directly querying on-chain data to determine the holder of a specific identity. According to the project team, these identities may in the future be used for community access, reputation systems, and other privacy-focused applications—though specific functionalities are still under development.
This auction used a uniform clearing price mechanism, ultimately attracting 16,971 bids. The clearing price was set at 1.5 ZEC, approximately $2,190, with a total of approximately 25,305 ZEC (around $36.94 million) sold. All unsuccessful bidders received full refunds.
It should be noted that Bitcoin Ordinals developer Leonidas publicly accused the zkSNARKs team of being serial "entrepreneurs" in the Ordinals space, with many of their projects being scams.
Zec Bit
Zec Bit is a native NFT project built on Zcash, offering an NFT marketplace and issuance platform that supports NFT trading, offers, and reservations. Its core philosophy is not merely to create PFP NFTs, but to leverage Zcash Shielded Assets (ZSA) to explore an NFT trading model where assets are public but ownership remains private by default.
On traditional blockchains, NFTs typically expose holding addresses, transaction histories, and relationships between wallets. ZecBit aims to conceal this information. While project collections, supply quantities, and issuance records remain verifiable on-chain, details such as who holds the NFTs, how many are held, and historical transactions are kept private by default. Users can choose to voluntarily disclose this information when proving ownership is necessary.
ZecBit's first series, ZecBit Genesis — Shielded, consists of 3,333 pixel-style generative art NFTs, which were available for free minting starting September 3 and have since been fully minted and entered the secondary market, with a current floor price of approximately 0.36 ZEC. Holders of Genesis NFTs can also earn points for priority access to future platform projects.
It is important to note that ZecBit currently operates primarily on the ZSA testnet. The project team has stated that assets will only be migrated to users' shielded wallets after ZSA is activated on the Zcash mainnet, and the exact mainnet launch date is not determined by the ZecBit team.
ZADDR
ZADDR is a privacy-focused experiment built on Zcash, featuring "readable identities with default private payments." The core idea is that users' names can be public, while transaction details such as amounts, senders, and recipients are shielded by default.
In terms of identity and collectibles, ZADDR has launched a limited collection of 2,800 hand-drawn pixel avatar NFTs, stored within Zcash’s Orchard privacy pool. The introductory tweet for this series has surpassed 1.5 million views. ZADDR has not yet announced the official minting time or price, but whitelist applications are now open. According to the project team, thousands of applications have already been received. Applicants must log in via their X account, complete designated tasks, and submit a Zcash address, after which their applications will undergo manual review by the team.
In addition to NFTs, ZADDR aims to establish a more user-friendly identity system for Zcash. Users can bind a unique name consisting of 3 to 20 characters, eliminating the need to directly use Zcash addresses that are up to 178 characters long. When a payer enters the name, the system resolves the corresponding address and completes the payment. Users can also set their own Zcash address for the name, linking it to ZADDR, a hardware wallet, or an exchange.
For asset security, ZADDR generates and manages keys locally; private keys are never uploaded to the server. All Zcash-related transaction construction, signing, and zero-knowledge proofs are completed on the user’s device in the browser, and the server receives only the fully signed transaction.
For cross-chain functionality, ZADDR has launched Crosspay, enabling cross-chain asset transfers via NEAR Intents. It currently supports networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, Solana, and Tron, with additional cross-chain paths planned. Users can exchange assets like BTC, ETH, and USDC for ZEC, or convert shielded ZEC to other chains. A 1% fee applies for cross-chain withdrawals, while deposits into Zcash are free.
In addition, ZADDR has designed a ZAD reputation system. Users can earn ZAD through actual usage behaviors such as sending, receiving, trading, cross-chain transfers, and claiming names. These points cannot be purchased, sold, or transferred, and function more like an on-chain reputation mechanism that tracks user engagement with the product.
BITFOOTS
BITFOOTS is positioned as an NFT series themed around "Bigfoot." Unlike rapidly generated NFT collections, each BITFOOTS piece is a unique, manually crafted 1/1 artwork meticulously planned and designed. From artistic creation to the development of the Bigfoot base characters, worldbuilding, and overall visual direction, the project has invested over 1,000 hours.
Unlike traditional PFPs on public ledgers, BITFOOTS combines the mysterious narrative of the "Bigfoot" with Zcash's privacy mechanisms. The project describes it as "hidden creatures in an on-chain forest"—while the collection exists on-chain, holders do not need to expose their full wallet profiles as with ordinary NFTs. Users are more like "discovering" a Bitfoot on-chain rather than simply purchasing an avatar.
The project was initially planned to be launched via Bitcoin Ordinals. The team had already completed the inscription of the entire collection on Bitcoin and worked directly with the Magic Eden team to finalize the process. However, due to changes in market conditions, the launch was put on hold. Now, the project is being relaunched on Zcash, aiming to redefine the way this collection is distributed by leveraging Zcash’s privacy features.
Currently, the minting price for BITFOOTS is approximately $5, payable in ZEC, with the project team stating that this fee primarily covers Launchpad and network costs. The project uses an application-based whitelist system; users must first submit an application and receive approval before participating in the mint. Approved users can also invite friends to participate.
Notably, BITFOOTS has also designed a dual-chain experience combining Zcash and Bitcoin Ordinals. After minting on Zcash, users who approve and submit the corresponding Bitcoin Ordinals address can receive the equivalent Bitcoin version for free; some works even feature Ordinals-exclusive colors or characteristics.
Zec Punks
Zec Punks is the first Punks-style NFT collection in the Zcash ecosystem, comprising 1,555 pixel Punks. Each piece is generated by combining hand-drawn features on a 24×24 grid, with an overall aesthetic similar to the classic NFT project CryptoPunks. The team has stated that there are no hidden reserves and no second edition will be released.
This NFT was minted on September 15 at a price of 0.015 ZEC. Participants were required to use a Zcash shielded address starting with "u1"; transparent addresses were not eligible. The collection is now sold out. In addition to the NFT itself, the Zec Punks official team has recently begun teasing future features, though specific details have not yet been announced.
ZecCat
ZecCat is a pixel-art cat NFT project currently underway on the Zcash mainnet, planning to issue 3,333 unique pixel cats. The project utilizes ZRC-721 JSON inscriptions, with each NFT existing as an inscription and its corresponding on-chain载体, and ownership transfers along with the UTXO carrying the inscription, according to publicly disclosed application-layer rules. The minting and trading functions are not yet open, and the specific minting time and price remain unknown.
ZecCat has now opened its whitelist application. Users can participate without connecting a wallet or paying any fees—simply submit your X username and a Zcash mainnet transparent address (t1 address). Each X account and t1 address may only be submitted once. The whitelist will be selected using a randomized GTD and FCFS mechanism, and additional bonuses are reserved for eligible original content contributors.
Regarding NFT security mechanisms, ZecCat has designed a dedicated NFT Vault. According to the project’s published comprehensive system design, user wallets will generate separate addresses: a Payment Address for everyday transactions and an NFT Vault Address specifically for storing NFT assets, reducing the risk of accidentally using NFT assets as payment inputs during regular transfers. The project also plans to have users locally sign operations such as minting, transferring, listing, and purchasing, with the wallet recognizing and protecting NFT assets.
In addition to NFT issuance, ZecCat plans to build its own marketplace, supporting features such as collection browsing, portfolio management, listing, purchase requests, and item offers. It will further introduce platform fee discounts and practical functionalities tailored for NFT holders.
ZecFrogs
ZecFrogs is a pixel frog NFT project on Zcash, planning to issue 6,969 Pixel Frogs. The team positions it as one of the first frog NFT collections on ZEC and aims to use the frog series as an entry point to build a broader "Pond" ecosystem around Zcash.
Currently, ZecFrogs is about to launch a free mint, available only to Noir wallet u1 shielded addresses. Users must pre-reserve at least 0.007 ZEC in their wallet to cover gas and related protocol fees. Users not yet on the Froglist can still apply for whitelisting via the official website.
In addition to the NFTs themselves, ZecFrogs is simultaneously developing ZecPad infrastructure, positioned as a Launchpad and Marketplace for the Zcash ecosystem, aiming to provide functionalities such as NFT issuance and secondary trading.
Zecutives
Zecutives is the first native NFT collection launched by the privacy-focused NFT marketplace ZEC MARKET, featuring 1,111 pixel-art "executive" avatars. Holders will be eligible to receive a share of revenues from future platform projects, with free minting set to begin soon.
Zecutives also emphasize that floor prices are public, while holder identities are private by default. NFTs and related assets are stored in Zcash's Shielded Vault, preventing external users from directly viewing specific holder information.
In the minting mechanism, Zecutives are not minted directly using ZEC, but rather using the token $EXZEC. This token is already listed on Stonkfun and paired with ZEC, with a total supply of 1 billion. Users must burn $EXZEC on the ZEC MARKET to mint Zecutives, with an initial price of approximately 80,000 $EXZEC; the price increases by 3% after every 25 NFTs minted. The total supply is capped at 1,111, with a maximum of 3 NFTs allowed per Vault.
Regarding the revenue mechanism, this NFT indicates that a 10% platform fee will be charged when new collections are minted on ZEC MARKET, with 2% allocated to Zecutives holders proportionally based on the number of NFTs they own. Previously migrated collections, such as Genesis and Punks, are not included in this revenue-sharing model. Half of the burned $EXZEC is destroyed, while the other half is transferred to the project treasury.