Zcash (ZEC) broke above $1,000 for the first time since 2018, triggering a wave of profit-taking and a sharp short squeeze that caught leveraged bears off guard. According to on-chain data, a whale who accumulated 22,840 ZEC at an average cost of $48.44 through Binance between 2021 and 2024 transferred the entire position to Binance on September 5, 2026, worth roughly $23.11 million. The move delivered an estimated profit of $21.96 million, about a 20x return on the original investment. The tokens were first sent to a private address, then moved to a new address with privacy features removed before being deposited to Binance.
The rally accelerated after Zcash climbed from a low of $805 on September 3 to a high of $1,051 on September 4. CoinGlass data showed about $13.24 million in leveraged ZEC positions were liquidated over 24 hours, including $11.26 million in shorts and $1.98 million in longs, representing a 562% liquidation imbalance. Earlier, ZEC had struggled to break $888, which encouraged bearish positioning. Over the past 30 days ZEC gained 105%, and it is up 2,395% over the past year, pushing its market capitalization to about $17.25 billion and making it the 10th-largest crypto asset.
Institutional and technical developments supported the move. Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF began trading on NYSE Arca in late August under the ticker ZCSH and has crossed $400 million in assets under management. Digital Currency Group, Grayscale’s parent, was reportedly in non-binding talks to purchase 200,000 ZEC through a subsidiary. Developers of Zakura, a Zcash node launched in July, also released cryptographic tools that cut mobile private transaction build times from over three seconds to under 200 milliseconds.
Analyst il Capo said he expects a correction following the ZEC rally, adding that such a correction could also affect the broader cryptocurrency market. This is not investment advice.
