Whales Short ZEC Amid Its Meteoric Price Surge and Frenzy on X

While Zcash (ZEC) is making waves of headlines for its continued growth, various traders are now betting against its price surge and opening leveraged short positions.

Data from Coinalyze shows that ZEC currently has a long/short ratio of 1/1.92, with 34.28% of traders on the long side and 65.72% on the short side. It has an open interest of $689 million across all perpetual markets.

As noted by Lookonchain on X, a whale with the address 0xC385 recently deposited approximately $3 million in USDC into Hyperliquid and initially placed a 2x leveraged short trade on 3,230 Zcash (ZEC) tokens. The latest data from Hypurrscan shows that the whale has increased the size of its trade to 4,614.85 ZEC, now amounting to nearly $2 million.

The whale currently sits at a profit of $25,768 and has a liquidation price at $581.43. This means that if the ZEC price rises above $581.43, their short position will be liquidated with a loss of $3 million.

The Recent Rise in ZEC Price

The trade comes against ZEC’s recent meteoric rise, which has seen the privacy-focused cryptocurrency surge nearly 200% in the last 30 days. At the time of publishing, ZEC is trading near $421 with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.36 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Zcash, known for its shielded transaction capabilities, has been a focal point of speculation ahead of its anticipated November 2025 halving. This event halves mining rewards and historically drives scarcity-driven price increases. This has propelled ZEC’s market capitalization to $6.2 billion, surpassing rival Monero and cementing its status as the leading privacy coin.

On a technical front, Zcash (ZEC) witnessed a remarkable surge in privacy adoption, with over 4.9 million ZEC now locked in shielded addresses. This data comes from zkp.baby, a dashboard for Zcash blockchain data. The number marks a 15% increase for the month alone, now representing 30% of the total ZEC supply.

This shift underscores growing user confidence in Zcash’s zk-SNARK technology, which enables fully private transactions without compromising compliance. By reducing the circulating liquid supply, this trend could exert upward pressure on ZEC’s market dynamics, potentially leading to tighter pricing and increased volatility.

Simultaneously, it bolsters Zcash’s positioning as a regulatory-friendly privacy coin, distinguishing it in a landscape wary of anonymous assets. Besides, institutional interest—exemplified by Grayscale’s ZEC Trust holding $137 million in assets—further signals maturing demand from sophisticated investors seeking privacy-preserving exposure within compliant frameworks.

ZEC Trend on X

Moreover, ZEC is trending explosively on X, fueled by high-profile key opinion leaders (KOLs) like popular crypto influencer Ansem, Solana maxi Mert, BitMax founder Arthur Hayes, and others enthusiastically shilling the coin.

The X buzz around ZEC has been relentless over the past few days, with KOLs driving the narrative. Ansem and Mert have touted ZEC’s privacy features and halving potential, while Arthur Hayes, the former BitMEX CEO, boldly predicted a $10,000 target, further amplifying the hype.

As the crypto community watches this high-stakes showdown unfold, ZEC’s price performance and the whale’s fate will likely dominate discussions on X in the days ahead. With the halving looming and sentiment running high, the market stands at a crossroads, poised for either a dramatic reversal or a continued ascent.