Key Technical Breakdown: Why the Downtrend Still Dominates
In the volatile world of altcoins, few stories capture the crypto market’s manic-depressive swings like Zcash ($ZEC). Once a privacy pioneer with zk-SNARKs at its core, $ZEC surged to multi-year highs in late November 2025, fueled by unprecedented hype. Traders piled in, dubbing it “the new BTC” amid whispers of institutional adoption and regulatory tailwinds. But as quickly as the euphoria built, it evaporated, leaving $ZEC nursing a 90% drawdown from its peak.
$ZEC hasn't provided any upwards returns.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) December 2, 2025
Why not?
Everyone screaming $ZEC during the peak, that's something that we've not seen for a long time: peak hype.
That's why it came crashing down, as long liquidity has been taken out.
That's now done. There's a case that we're… https://t.co/XfjXPT6n54pic.twitter.com/kckAE2pL02
Now, with liquidity grabs exhausted, prominent analyst Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) argues the bleeding may pause for a tactical rebound—though a full trend flip remains elusive. The crash wasn’t random; it was textbook. Lower timeframes reveal a clear downtrend since the recent apex, with $ZEC slicing through key supports like a hot knife through butter. Van de Poppe’s TradingView charts paint a stark picture: the 20-day moving average (MA) looms as an impenetrable ceiling, currently acting as dynamic resistance around $450. Price action has hugged this level, forming a series of lower highs and lows that scream bearish continuation.
Liquidity Zones Signal Tactical Bounce Potential
The hype peak was a classic euphoria trap, where retail FOMO met thin order books, inviting whales to harvest longs via cascading liquidations. Zooming out, the daily chart underscores the drama. A sharp rally from $280 liquidity pools in early November propelled $ZEC toward $600, only for rejection at the $500-520 horizontal resistance zone—a multi-month supply wall. Annotations highlight this as prime short territory, where sellers defended with precision. Yet, beneath the rubble lies opportunity. The $270-300 band, marked as a “liquidity ready to take” for longs, has already seen initial bounces. Volume spikes here suggest dip-buyers reloading, potentially fueling a short-covering squeeze if momentum builds. Van de Poppe is clear: this isn’t a reversal call.
What Must Break for a Real Trend Reversal
True bullish conviction demands a clean break above the 20-day MA, igniting higher highs and reclaiming the $500 ledge. Until then, expect chop—sideways grinding that tests patience. Fundamentals add nuance; Zcash’s privacy edge shines in a post-FTX era of on-chain sleuthing, but competition from Monero and emerging L2 solutions dilutes its moat. ETF rumors and halvings elsewhere steal thunder, yet $ZEC’s fixed supply (21 million cap) could spark scarcity plays if macro risk-off eases. For traders, the playbook is straightforward: scalp bounces from $280-300 with tight stops below $270, targeting $400 resistance. Long-term holders should accumulate on weakness, but hedge with BTC pairs. As December unfolds, watch BTC dominance; an altseason thaw could lift $ZEC 20-30% short-term. In crypto’s theater of extremes, $ZEC’s saga reminds us: hype builds castles in the air, but liquidity builds the moat. Patience, not prayers, wins here.