Zcash (ZEC) and NEAR Protocol Join Hands: Will This Rejuvenate The Crypto OG?

Zcash is now part of the Intents stack by NEAR Protocol. Will this integration lift ZEC price demand and propel prices to Q4 2024 highs?

Zcash launched with a simple mission: enhance privacy and allow ZEC holders to obscure their transactions selectively. For this reason, ZEC gained traction and emerged as one of the go-to privacy coins after Monero (XMR).

The bad news is that over the years, regulators have been cracking down on privacy coins, and ZEC

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has been on the receiving end. Not only has its liquidity fallen as exchanges like Binance delisted ZEC, but with rising competition, holders want more and care less about privacy.

Zcash Integrates NEAR Protocol’s Intents Stack

To adapt, Zcash recently announced its full integration into the NEAR Protocol Intents stack. NEAR Protocol is already one of the top crypto AI projects, and the release of the Intents stack only cements its role while also breathing new life into a legacy chain, in this case, Zcash.

Unstoppable private money meets unstoppable liquidity.

Say gm to @zcash – now live on NEAR Intents.

Swap native ETH, BTC, SOL, NEAR, and more for native $ZEC pic.twitter.com/y0K9wY8REy

— NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) February 8, 2025

The announcement came less than 48 hours following the launch of the $20 million NEAR AI Agent Fund. The NEAR Protocol team aims to create an infrastructure of autonomous and verifiable AI bots through this initiative.

This integration will introduce a new type of transaction, allowing Zcash to power cross-chain swaps while also being empowered with multichain abstraction. The meshing will also show Zcash benefits from AI-powered payment rails.

What It Means For NEAR and ZEC Users

Users can now swap ZEC with other top altcoins, including Bitcoin, Solana, NEAR, and XRP, without paying any fees. This is all part of what NEAR Protocol plans to release with the Intents stack.

At its core, the team described the product as a “decentralized, KYC-free alternative to centralized exchanges.” What it does differently from other decentralized options is that users can benefit from similar experiences as with an exchange like Coinbase or Binance. The difference is that they can swap in a private and secure environment.

By leveraging AI-powered bots, users can swap native assets instantaneously and at zero fees. This advantage makes it suitable for cross-border payments and ideal for platforms like ZEC, whose core mission was to launch a solution like Bitcoin with more privacy. Zcash does this by using zero-knowledge proofs.

NEAR Protocol users now can swap blockchain assets for ZEC while exploring the broader Zcash ecosystem. They may also explore the recently introduced FROST, a new feature that aims to improve efficiency by reducing costs when users approve transactions.

Will ZEC Price Recover in 2025?

Even with this announcement, ZEC prices are under pressure. The coin is down by over 50% from Q4 2024 highs and flatlining. Notably, ZEC reversed all gains in November 2024 and currently has support at around $30.