- Zcash soared past $800, breaking its January 2018 record, as derivatives trading surged and Grayscale made further progress on its proposed spot ETF.
- ZEC gained 38% on Saturday, driven by renewed “next bitcoin” speculation, billions of dollars in futures activity and growing expectations around Grayscale’s ETF plans.
- Built partly on Bitcoin’s architecture, Zcash has a 21 million coin cap, proof-of-work mining and scheduled halvings, while its shielded transactions provide an added layer of privacy.
- CoinDesk Research has highlighted several aspects of Zcash’s development this year, including the Tachyon upgrade and the network’s efforts to strengthen its defenses against future quantum-computing threats.
- The latest rally lifted ZEC above its January 2018 record of roughly $800 and cleared the approximately $750 high recorded last November.
- Zcash traded between about $589 and $851 over a 24-hour period, marking a price swing of roughly 45%.
- Digital Currency Group has emerged as a key player in the recent Zcash developments through its ownership of Grayscale.
- Grayscale submitted an amended filing on Aug. 18 seeking to turn its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF listed on NYSE Arca under the ZCSH ticker.
- The filing represents continued progress toward the proposed fund but does not constitute SEC approval, with regulators still reviewing the application.
- The document also revealed that DCG International Investments is negotiating on a non-binding basis to acquire around 200,000 ZEC through the trust, worth about $163 million at current prices.
- Zcash futures recorded roughly $4.55 billion in volume on Friday, far exceeding the approximately $553 million traded in the spot market, while open interest approached $1.35 billion.
- Trading volume over the following 24 hours reached around $2.24 billion, representing approximately 16% of Zcash’s total market value.
- The surge in leveraged trading can intensify rallies but also increases the risk of abrupt declines if positions begin unwinding.
- Zcash experienced a sharp reversal in June after a vulnerability was discovered in its Orchard shielded pool, which supports the network’s private transactions.
- ZEC now has a market capitalization of about $13.87 billion, making it the 12th-largest cryptocurrency and the biggest privacy-focused token by market value.
Zcash Jumps 48% on Grayscale ETF Move, Sparking Fresh ‘Next Bitcoin’ Buzz
