Zcash Climbs 20% to $1,000 Landmark as Bears Take $34M Hit

Zcash (ZEC) surged nearly 20% over 24 hours on Friday, briefly moving above $1,020 as a rapid price increase forced leveraged traders betting against the privacy-focused token to unwind their positions.

The token opened near $828 and climbed to roughly $1,023, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume reached about $1.2 billion over the same period, pushing Zcash’s market capitalization close to $17 billion.

The sudden advance triggered heavy losses for short sellers. Approximately $36.6 million in leveraged ZEC positions were liquidated, including around $34.5 million in shorts, according to liquidation data.

A short liquidation occurs when a rising asset price leaves a leveraged bearish position without enough collateral. The exchange then closes the position automatically. Because traders covering shorts must buy back the underlying token, large-scale liquidations can add momentum to a rally.

ZEC has already posted exceptional gains before Friday’s move. The token is up roughly 94% over the past 30 days and more than 2,300% over the past year, putting it among the strongest-performing large cryptocurrencies.

Derivatives Activity Accelerates

Zcash’s rise has been accompanied by growing interest in futures. Open interest climbed to around 2.3 million ZEC, equivalent to approximately $2.3 billion, as traders increased derivatives exposure alongside the spot-market rally.

The latest advance comes after several developments boosted Zcash’s institutional profile and network capabilities.

Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF began trading on NYSE Arca in late August under the ZCSH ticker. The launch converted a trust that had previously been available only to accredited investors into an exchange-traded product accessible through standard brokerage accounts.

Institutional buying interest has also emerged. Digital Currency Group, Grayscale’s parent company, was reportedly in non-binding discussions through a subsidiary to purchase 200,000 ZEC, according to CoinDesk.

Privacy Transactions Get Faster

Zcash developers have also continued improving the network’s performance.

The team behind Zakura, a Zcash node launched in July, released cryptographic tools earlier this month that significantly reduced the time needed to construct private transactions on mobile devices.

The process previously took more than three seconds but can now be completed in under 200 milliseconds on mobile. The upgrade is part of a broader push to make Zcash faster and better suited to everyday payments.