Most market models price ZEC as if privacy demand grows linearly with adoption. That assumption is flawed. Privacy tends to be ignored—until it becomes essential—at which point demand spikes abruptly rather than gradually.

For advanced users, this creates a convex payoff profile. If macro, regulatory, or technological shifts make privacy non-optional, ZEC’s relevance re-prices quickly because its infrastructure already exists. The risk is patience; the reward is structural scarcity in functional privacy.