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Bitcoin Is Not the Only Cryptocurrency With a Halving. Here's Why It's Time to Put Zcash (ZEC) on Your Investment Radar.
Zcash's privacy functions significantly differentiate it from Bitcoin despite also having a halving mechanism.
By Alex Carchidi – Sep 26, 2026 at 7:05AM EST
+Fool.comonShare
Summarize with AI
Key Points
Bitcoin's halving is one of the main pillars of its supply policy.
Zcash also has a halving, though it also offers privacy as a way to stimulate demand.
You should know a bit about this coin if you don't already.
10 stocks we like better than Zcash ›
Bitcoin's (BTC+0.74%) halving mechanism was the first of its kind, but since the coin's launch, a few others have adopted a similar approach. For example, Zcash (ZEC+8.01%) copied its own halving mechanism more or less verbatim from Bitcoin, and it's up 197% so far this year. Its next halving is predicted to occur on Nov. 23, 2028.
Zcash also took Bitcoin's 21 million coin cap, among other features. But rather than aiming to be a neutral and fully transparent store of value like its older sibling, Zcash offers privacy. And given that demand for financial privacy solutions could just be getting started, it's worth knowing the basics about Zcash, as it might have what it takes to be bigger than Bitcoin someday.
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Top 10 Stocks to Buy Now ›
S&P 500
7,743.41
+0.5%
+39.28
DJI
51,828.62
+0.9%
+478.64
NASDAQ
27,068.72
+0.5%
+129.34
$84,534.00
+0.7%
+$620.40
$148.68
+0.4%
+$0.65
$341.07
+1.5%
+$5.15
$249.67
+0.1%
+$0.29
$341.08
+0.6%
+$2.07
META
$751.66
-3.3%
-$25.93
$516.17
+3.7%
+$18.24
$225.07
+0.2%
+$0.49
$372.11
-1.5%
-$5.83
Free ArticleExplore Premium Services
Bitcoin Is Not the Only Cryptocurrency With a Halving. Here's Why It's Time to Put Zcash (ZEC) on Your Investment Radar.
Zcash's privacy functions significantly differentiate it from Bitcoin despite also having a halving mechanism.
By Alex Carchidi – Sep 26, 2026 at 7:05AM EST
+Fool.comonShare
Summarize with AI
Key Points
Bitcoin's halving is one of the main pillars of its supply policy.
Zcash also has a halving, though it also offers privacy as a way to stimulate demand.
You should know a bit about this coin if you don't already.
10 stocks we like better than Zcash ›
Bitcoin's (BTC+0.74%) halving mechanism was the first of its kind, but since the coin's launch, a few others have adopted a similar approach. For example, Zcash (ZEC+8.01%) copied its own halving mechanism more or less verbatim from Bitcoin, and it's up 197% so far this year. Its next halving is predicted to occur on Nov. 23, 2028.
Zcash also took Bitcoin's 21 million coin cap, among other features. But rather than aiming to be a neutral and fully transparent store of value like its older sibling, Zcash offers privacy. And given that demand for financial privacy solutions could just be getting started, it's worth knowing the basics about Zcash, as it might have what it takes to be bigger than Bitcoin someday.
Image source: Getty Images.
Zcash's supply tweaks seek to improve on Bitcoin's bones
A halving is an event in which a blockchain's block subsidy (the new coins paid to miners for mining a block) decreases by 50% and remains at that level forever.
Bitcoin's protocol implements a halving every 210,000 blocks, which makes the halving date mostly predictable. Its mining difficulty, the amount of computational power that miners must apply on average to mine a new block, automatically adjusts itself every 2,016 blocks, thereby keeping the Bitcoin mining schedule at close to the target of 10-minute blocks. Bitcoin's network currently mines approximately 164,250 new coins annually, or 0.8% of the total possible supply
Zcash uses the same blueprint but operates at significantly higher speeds while also bolting on additional privacy features, with 75-second blocks. The chain's community recently voted to reduce the block time to 25 seconds in the next network update, which developers are targeting for November 2026. About 3.9% of its circulating supply is currently mined per year.