Zcash Leads Rally as Bitcoin Surpasses $120,000

The cryptocurrency market continued its upward momentum on Thursday, Oct. 2, with investors signaling that the U.S. government shutdown won’t derail the rally.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $120,000 for the first time since August, trading around $120,176, up 2.5% on the day, while Ethereum (ETH) rose 4% to $4,480.

Solana (SOL) gained 6% to $231, Binance Coin (BNB) increased 4% to $1,064, and XRP added 3.4% to $3.04.

Outside the top 10, Zcash (ZEC) surged 42% to $131 as firms and projects continue to prioritize privacy features in the crypto sector. Other top gainers include Aptos (APT) and Cronos (CRO), which both rose 10% to $5.11 and $0.20, respectively.

The day’s biggest loser among the top 100 is MYX Finance (MYX), which is down 34% to $10.

The total crypto market capitalization reached $4.2 trillion, up 2.1% on the day, with Bitcoin dominance at 56.7% and Ethereum’s at 12.7%.

Liquidations

In the past 24 hours, nearly $411 million in crypto positions were liquidated, according to data from Coinglass. Longs accounted for $121 million, and short positions made up over $290 million.

BTC led with $134 million in liquidations, followed by ETH at around $112 million, while altcoins accounted for around $27 million.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded nearly $677 million in inflows on Oct. 1, extending a three-day streak of positive flows that now totals $1.6 billion.

Spot Ethereum ETFs attracted roughly $81 million on Wednesday, also marking their third consecutive day of inflows and bringing cumulative gains to $755 million, according to SoSoValue.

Shutdown Continues

Despite the U.S. government shutdown on Wed, Oct. 1, both cryptocurrency and traditional markets continued to rally.

Experts say the shutdown mainly represents a short-term political risk that is unlikely to alter the medium-term easing trend, though it does increase market volatility.

“The current environment is caught in a tug-of-war between ‘rate cut expectations’ and ‘growth concerns,’ keeping investor sentiment cautious,” analysts from Bitunix said in comments shared with The Defiant. “For BTC, watch supports at 110k–112k and 106k–108k, with resistance at 116k and 122k–125k. Flexibility is key, and traders should closely monitor liquidation hotspots.”

Other experts pointed to statistics which show that past shutdowns have had a minor effect on the economy. For example, the shutdown in 2018–2019 resulted in only a slight drop in GDP, but the economy quickly recovered in the following months.

Another factor supporting the market is the possibility of another Federal Reserve rate cut following a weaker-than-expected ADP jobs report, which showed private sector job losses of 32,000 in September.