The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally concluded its two-and-a-half-year investigation into the Zcash Foundation, announcing it does not intend to recommend any enforcement action. The probe focused on whether the Zcash (ZEC) offering complied with anti-money laundering (AML) and economic sanctions requirements.
The Zcash Foundation announced the closure of the investigation on January 14, 2026, stating, "We are pleased to announce that the SEC has concluded its review and informed us that it does not intend to recommend any enforcement action or other changes against Zcash Foundation regarding this matter." The initial announcement triggered a 9% daily surge in ZEC's price.
This regulatory clarity is seen as a pivotal moment for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, potentially unlocking sidelined capital and enabling exploration of more mainstream, institutional use-cases that require privacy rails compliant with regulations and selective disclosure.
Despite the positive regulatory development, Zcash faces internal challenges. The recent exodus of the core Electric Coin Company (ECC) development team has raised doubts about the ecosystem's long-term integrity and development momentum.
From a technical analysis perspective, ZEC's price action shows it trading within a symmetrical triangle pattern, indicating compression and an impending decisive move. On-chain data from Nansen reveals a 16% increase in ZEC balances on centralized exchanges over the last 24 hours, typically a sign of growing selling pressure as holders move coins to trading venues.
Derivatives data presents a mixed picture. The liquidation map shows a significant asymmetry, with roughly $48 million in short exposure clustered near $500 and about $25 million in long exposure near $357. This imbalance means long traders carry more immediate risk if the price declines.
Analysts note that a confirmed breakout above the triangle's upper boundary near $504 could invalidate the bearish setup and trigger a rapid advance. Conversely, a breakdown below $405 could trigger long liquidations and push the price toward $340 or even $300. Some longer-term charts suggest a bull flag pattern is forming, with a key resistance level at all-time highs around $760. A breakout there could, in an optimistic scenario, set a long-term target as high as $5,000, though this would depend heavily on sustained institutional adoption.
