Grayscale's Head of Research, Zach Pandl, reaffirmed that bitcoin's decline to about $58,000 around June 30 remains his bottom call for the current bear market phase. Speaking at the Avalanche Summit in New York, he said the asset manager has stuck its neck out and still views that level as the cycle low.
Pandl explained that Grayscale uses a three-part framework for client allocation decisions: the long-term structural trend, the stage of the market cycle, and the macroeconomic backdrop. According to the firm, all three conditions now support renewed exposure to digital assets, meaning Grayscale is giving clients the green light to allocate.
The view aligns with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who said on September 10 that bitcoin has bottomed in this cycle and predicted a two-year upward trend into the next halving. Bitcoin traded above $76,000 early Thursday, up 0.8% over 24 hours, but remains roughly 39% below its record high near $126,000.
Technical analysis on the daily timeframe shows a generally bullish setup. Bitcoin broke its previous lower high and is consolidating in what appears to be a bull flag. Analysts note that a breakout above local resistance could confirm a stronger uptrend, with accumulation and distribution readings rising to 12.74 million.
Pandl also discussed Zcash, which Grayscale has offered through an investment product for about nine years. He argued that bitcoin and other digital currencies need a privacy layer, and that Zcash prioritizes privacy at the expense of some auditability offered by bitcoin's transparent design. He described Zcash as an underutilized and under-explored design space rather than a direct competitor to bitcoin.
He linked Zcash's appeal to growing concerns around artificial intelligence and digital surveillance. While calling Grayscale an AI optimist, Pandl said new technology also creates new risks and described privacy technology as a safeguard for user autonomy in a world of potentially powerful AI surveillance. Zcash has climbed 177% over the past 30 days and is trading above $1,400, with technical momentum indicators such as the Money Flow Index and Parabolic SAR still pointing upward.
