Zcash surges 35%, hits a 3 year high of $174

Key Takeaways

Why did Zcash surge 35% in 24 hours? 

Rising privacy concerns and a buying frenzy—driven by demand for alternatives to Bitcoin—sparked ZEC’s rally.

How far could ZEC climb if bullish momentum continues? 

If momentum holds, ZEC could reclaim $274 and potentially target $303, its 2021 correction level.

Since staging a strong comeback, Zcash [ZEC] has erased three years of downtrend within one week. After breaking out of a multi-year-long downtrend, ZCash rallied to a three-year high of $274 before retracing. 

At press time, Zcash was trading at $244, marking a 35.22% increase over the past 24 hours. 

But why is ZEC pumping?

Why is ZCash up?

AMBCrypto observed that Zcash has rallied, inspired by the rising privacy concerns among crypto investors. 

In fact, many investors have voiced concerns that Bitcoin [BTC] lacks sufficient privacy, prompting a shift toward Zcash [ZEC], which is seen as a more private alternative.

MIT Research Scientist and Zcash co-founder, Virza, reignited the privacy debate by claiming ZEC offers stronger privacy protections than Monero, Bitcoin, and even quantum-resistant systems.

This narrative gained traction amid growing fears about spam and illegal content on the Bitcoin network, driving investors toward ZEC.

Source: Coinalyze

Over the past 24 hours, for example, buyers have scooped 1.4 million tokens as per Coinalyze data. Historically, increased demand has preceded higher prices, as witnessed on ZEC over the past few days. 

Investors scramble for Futures positions

In addition to spot demand, investors, both whales and retail, rushed into the futures market to chase the rally. 

According to CryptoQuant, Futures Taker CVD has remained throughout the past week. When this metric is green, it signals buyer-taker dominance in the Futures market.

Source: CryptoQuant

Thus, participants in the Futures market are mostly buyers. This participation is even more prevalent on the Hyperliquid [HYPE]. As such, Zcash saw 455.5k, Buys Contracts compared to 430.8k Sells Contracts.

Source: Nansen

Typically, when buyers dominate the futures market, it implies that most investors entering are actively opening new positions. 

Profit takers are not left behind

As expected, with the market rallying, holders who have been underwater and speculators rushed into the market to realize a profit. 

According to Coinglass, Zcash has recorded positive Spot Netflow for three consecutive days. At press time, Netflow was $18.17 million, a drop from $22.9 million the previous day, indicating higher inflows. 

Source: CoinGlass

Historically, increased selling pressure has preceded lower prices, as downward pressure mounts and demand fails to absorb it. 

How far can the bulls push ZEC?

According to AMBCrypto’s analysis, Zcash rallied as demand surged on the Spot and Futures markets, inspired by the privacy debate.

For that reason, the altcoin’s Relative Strength Index surged to 82, at press time, reaching the overbought zone. Such a spike indicates strong upward momentum driven by higher selling pressure.

Source: TradingView

In fact, ZEC sat above its Parabolic SAR, further confirming the strength of the uptrend. Therefore, if the momentum holds, ZEC will reclaim $274 and target SAR at $303, where the correction started in 2021.

Conversely, if momentum starts to fade, with profit takers dominating the market, ZEC will retrace to $177, with $124 where SAR sits acting as critical support.