Key Points
- Zcash (ZEC) price rose by 30% on October 11, reaching a four-year high of $284.
- The price surge is linked to renewed geopolitical tensions and a large-scale short squeeze.
Zcash (ZEC) experienced a 30% surge in price on Saturday, October 11, reaching a four-year peak of $284. This occurred despite the broader crypto market losing over $19 billion in derivatives positions within a 24-hour span. While Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a dip below key technical supports, Zcash stood out as the top gainer among the top-50 ranked assets that day.
Double-Digit Gains Amid Geopolitical Tensions
The rise in Zcash’s price to $284 coincided with increased geopolitical tension following the announcement of a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports by U.S. President Donald Trump. Zcash, a cryptocurrency that allows privacy-resistant peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, benefited from reignited discussions around neutral and privacy-oriented assets. Strategic investors also sought out profitable assets amidst the crypto market downturn.
The surge in ZEC price followed a week-long buildup of leveraged short positions, resulting in a massive short squeeze when prices broke above the $250 resistance zone. This breakout led to forced covering and large-scale ZEC short liquidations around key resistance levels.
Data from Coinglass shows that of the $5.75 million in ZEC liquidations over the past 24 hours, $4.01 million were short positions, while only $1.74 million came from longs. This imbalance emphasizes how aggressive short bets were caught off guard by the unexpected breakout above $250, fueling Zcash’s price rally for the fourth consecutive day.
As panic selling subsided on Saturday, traders started positioning for continued upside, with Zcash’s Long/Short ratio recovering to 1.05 at press time. This indicates that new long entries have outpaced short positions, offsetting the initial impact of the Trump-China-induced market turbulence.
Roger Ver Settlement and Privacy Coins
Earlier in the week, Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor and Bitcoin Cash advocate, reportedly reached a $48 million tentative settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve criminal tax fraud charges filed in 2024. US authorities accuse Ver of concealing his Bitcoin holdings before renouncing U.S. citizenship in 2014. This news has sparked discussions around the privacy-resistance and anonymity features of assets like Zcash.
The combination of a 4-year peak rally, Trump trade policies, and Roger Ver’s settlement makes a compelling case for privacy coins like Zcash as a hedge against current political uncertainty and market risks.
As of press time, ZEC trades around $265, down 14% from its intraday peak of $284 but still up 18% on the day. If ZEC maintains above the $250 breakout zone, bulls could target the $320 level highlighted by the Falling Wedge pattern on the 3-day chart. However, a drop below $235 would invalidate the bullish thesis and could potentially plunge as far as the $190 support.
