Garrett Jin, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange BitForex, closed a large short position on Zcash (ZEC), locking in an $11.24 million profit, according to on-chain data from Lookonchain. The trade capitalized on a violent price drop triggered by the revelation of a critical infinite minting vulnerability in Zcash’s Orchard upgrade.
Jin had opened the short before ZEC’s plunge last week. After the security flaw was disclosed—potentially allowing unlimited token creation—ZEC crashed to a low of around $250 on Binance, before partially recovering to near $435. At the height of the panic on June 5, Jin’s unrealized profit briefly touched $21.5 million. He subsequently exited the trade as the price bounced, realizing an $11.24 million gain.
On-chain intelligence further reveals that Jin’s wallet still holds another open ZEC short on Hyperliquid, currently showing an unrealized profit exceeding $21.5 million. This indicates he is not yet finished with his bearish position, even after banking an eight-figure sum.
The Orchard bug was patched before any exploitation, but the incident dealt a reputational blow to Zcash, a privacy coin that has recently seen a strong rally—ZEC was up over 58% for the week before the short closure. Jin’s contrarian trade, executed on the derivatives DEX Hyperliquid, ran counter to that upward momentum and underscores the risks that protocol-level vulnerabilities pose to even well-established cryptocurrencies.
Jin’s involvement draws further scrutiny given his history: BitForex halted withdrawals in early 2024, leaving users unable to access their funds, and the exchange was later revealed to be insolvent. His continued activity in the market raises fresh questions about regulatory gaps and accountability in the digital asset space.
