Zcash Tops $400 as Shorts Worth $10.6M Liquidated

Zcash (ZEC) climbed above $400 on May 3, reaching a peak of $424 at 9:35 p.m. EDT before settling near $414. The rise pushed ZEC’s market capitalization toward $7 billion. Over 24 hours the token was up about 8%, and it gained roughly 17% for the week.

Trading data show more than $10.6 million in ZEC short positions were liquidated during the 24-hour period, including a single largest short liquidation of $1.1 million. Long-position liquidations were below $900,000, bringing total liquidations to about $11.5 million.

The broader cryptocurrency market added more than $50 billion to overall market value during the period. ZEC outpaced most large-cap alternative tokens and was one of two high-cap names to record double-digit weekly gains.

ZEC’s price rebound began after the token fell below $200 on March 8, its lowest level year to date. Since that March low, ZEC has more than doubled. Earlier this year Monero overtook Zcash as the largest privacy coin by market capitalization; ZEC’s gains have narrowed that gap.

Industry figures have highlighted the privacy argument for Zcash during the recent price run. Barry Silbert wrote on X that early bitcoin demand was underestimated and added, “Zcash will benefit from now knowing better.” He also commented that a ban would be impossible on a cryptocurrency “you can’t see.” Raoul Pal described ZEC as “a younger sibling” of bitcoin, and influencer Jesus Martinez wrote, “Zcash will do what Bitcoin couldn’t do.”

Zcash launched as a cryptocurrency that offers optional private transactions. The protocol supports “shielded” transactions that hide sender, recipient and amount details. Supporters say shielded transactions provide greater privacy than fully public blockchains, and some investors have cited demand for privacy-preserving assets as a factor in buying interest.

Market participants will monitor whether the recent price momentum continues and whether public endorsements translate into sustained trading inflows. For now, ZEC’s brief return above $400 is its strongest level since late January.