Anonymous Cat, or ZCAT, is a Solanamemecoin that has paid its holders nearly $3 million worth of Zcash by taxing every token transfer 3% and converting most of that fee into $ZEC rewards. A rally in Zcash's own price has turned that unusual mechanism into a substantial payout for a token that only recently launched.
What is Anonymous Cat (ZCAT)?
ZCAT is a Solana-based memecoin built around a paper-bag-wearing cat and themed on Zcash's privacy narrative. Unlike most memecoins, which launch paired against $SOL or a stablecoin, ZCAT trades directly against $ZEC. It launched through StonkFun, a Solana launchpad that lets new tokens use assets other than $SOL or stablecoins as their trading pair, and now also trades through Raydium's LaunchLab. That ZCAT/$ZEC pairing is central to the project's identity, tying the memecoin's fortunes directly to Zcash's price.
How Does ZCAT's Reward Mechanism Actually Work?
The mechanism is straightforward, and it's the reason ZCAT has attracted attention beyond typical memecoin speculation.
- Every ZCAT transfer carries a 3% tax
- Most of that tax is converted into $ZEC and distributed to wallets holding at least $20 worth of ZCAT, according to the project's own dashboard
- As of this reporting, roughly 2,320 $ZEC, worth about $2.8 million, had been distributed across more than 470,000 individual payouts
One important caveat: these rewards come entirely from other people buying, selling, and transferring ZCAT, not from any business or investment generating outside income. If trading activity slows, the payouts shrink along with it.
Is ZCAT Actually A Privacy Coin?
Despite the branding, ZCAT is not a privacy coin in the technical sense. It's a standard Solana token, and Solana transactions, including every ZCAT transfer, are fully visible on the public blockchain.
ZCAT's connection to privacy is thematic and financial, borrowing Zcash's name recognition and paying real $ZEC rewards, rather than technical. It does not implement the cryptographic anonymity tools that define genuine privacy coins.
How ZCAT Compares To Real Privacy Coins
- Monero applies ring signatures and stealth addresses to every transaction by default, making privacy mandatory and uniform across the network
- Zcash offers optional shielded transactions secured by zk-SNARKs, a form of zero-knowledge proof that lets a transaction be verified as valid without revealing its details, alongside fully transparent transactions similar to Bitcoin
- ZCAT offers neither. Every transfer, and every reward payout, is recorded openly on Solana's ledger
Why Has $ZEC's Rally Made ZCAT's Payouts Explode?
Zcash has gained more than 2,300% over the past year and passed $1,200 for the first time late Sunday, driven by renewed demand for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. Because ZCAT's rewards are paid in $ZEC rather than a stablecoin, the same amount of transfer-tax revenue converts into a far larger dollar payout as $ZEC's price climbs. That's the mechanical reason a memecoin's reward pool has grown into the millions of dollars so quickly.
How Volatile Has ZCAT Trading Been?
ZCAT traded around 13 cents on Monday, carrying a market value of roughly $124 million and about $22 million in 24-hour trading volume. It briefly touched nearly 19 cents over the weekend before selling off sharply in early Monday trading, underscoring how quickly the token's price has swung in both directions.
That volatility has produced outsized gains for early buyers. One on-chain trader turned a $1,300 stake into roughly $2.17 million in ZCAT profit, a 1,626x return, according to trade data reported the same day. It's a pattern that echoes Cash Cat, another memecoin that gained traction after Robinhood Chain went live in July 2026, where one trader turned about $800 into more than $1 million during the token's first week.
Conclusion
ZCAT is a Solana memecoin, not a technical privacy coin, that has paid out roughly $2.8 million in $ZEC across more than 470,000 payouts through its 3% transfer tax. Those payouts scale directly with Zcash's own price, which has climbed past $1,200 on a 2,300% yearly gain, and they depend entirely on continued ZCAT trading rather than any underlying business or investment income.
Report by CoinDesk: This cat memecoin has paid holders $2.8 million in Zcash as $ZEC tops $1,200
- Report by Bloomingbit: ZCat Distributes $2.8 Million in Zcash to Token Holders
- Report by ChainCatcher via KuCoin: Solana meme coin ZCAT market cap surpasses $69M, 24-hour gain exceeds 230%
- Report by Gokhshtein Media: Solana Trader Nets $3.78M From ZCAT and STONK Memecoins
- Post by Sailor on X: ZCAT up roughly 370% in 24 hours amid custom quote-asset token launches on Solana