cpeditor
- Zcash climbed above $800 for the first time since 2018, breaking its long-standing January peak as futures activity surged and Grayscale moved closer to a spot ETF.
- ZEC rallied 38% on Saturday, with “next bitcoin” speculation, strong derivatives demand and Grayscale’s latest ETF filing adding momentum to the move.
- Zcash shares key characteristics with Bitcoin, including a 21 million coin supply limit, proof-of-work mining and periodic halvings, while shielded transactions add privacy features.
- Research this year has focused on Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade and its efforts to prepare the network for potential threats from quantum computing.
- The latest jump carried ZEC above its January 2018 high near $800 and past the roughly $750 peak reached in November.
- ZEC traded between about $589 and $851 within 24 hours, creating a price swing of approximately 45%.
- Digital Currency Group is involved in several of the developments boosting attention around Zcash, including through its subsidiary Grayscale.
- Grayscale filed an updated application on Aug. 18 to convert its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF on NYSE Arca under the ZCSH ticker.
- The amended filing advances the proposed conversion but does not guarantee approval, as the fund remains subject to SEC review.
- The filing also disclosed that DCG International Investments is in non-binding discussions to purchase about 200,000 ZEC through the trust, valued at approximately $163 million at Saturday’s price.
- Zcash futures generated around $4.55 billion in volume on Friday, compared with approximately $553 million in spot trading, while open interest stood at about $1.35 billion.
- Futures volume over the subsequent 24 hours reached around $2.24 billion, equivalent to roughly 16% of Zcash’s market capitalization.
- Heavy leverage can amplify gains during sharp rallies but can also accelerate losses when traders begin closing positions.
- Zcash demonstrated that risk earlier this year when it suffered a steep June sell-off following the discovery of a vulnerability in its Orchard shielded pool.
- With a market value of roughly $13.87 billion, Zcash now ranks 12th among cryptocurrencies and remains the largest privacy-focused token by market capitalization.
