Zcash Surges 20% Amid Significant Short Liquidations

Zcash (ZEC) saw a remarkable surge on September 4, climbing 20% to hit $1,023, marking its highest price in nearly a decade. This upward movement was fueled by the liquidation of approximately $34.5 million in short positions, effectively turning bearish bets into momentum for the rally.

The price opened around $828, indicating a substantial gain of nearly $200 within a single trading session. Trading volume surged to about $1.2 billion over the 24-hour period, while the market capitalization of ZEC increased to around $17 billion.

The short liquidations accounted for the majority of roughly $36.6 million in total leveraged ZEC positions that were closed during this timeframe. Notably, one trader, Garrett Jin, reportedly faced significant losses, exceeding $18.5 million on a short position of 32,760 ZEC as the price surpassed his liquidation threshold.

Additionally, futures open interest in ZEC reached approximately 2.3 million ZEC, valued at nearly $2.3 billion at the time. The recent price movement can also be attributed to the positive performance of Grayscale’s Zcash Trust ETF (ticker: ZCSH), which began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25 and has since climbed around 25%.

On-chain data reveals that the shielded supply of ZEC, which is held in privacy-preserving addresses, has risen to about 4.86 million ZEC, representing approximately 29% of the total supply.