Zcash extended its sharp correction Friday as leverage unwound from one of crypto’s hottest trades following a record-breaking run.
ZEC was trading around $1,090–$1,120, down roughly 10%–12% over 24 hours, according to current CoinGlass data. The token has now retreated substantially from its Sept. 9 peak near $1,298, though it remains up around 15% over the past week.
The pullback triggered roughly $27.6 million in ZEC futures liquidations over 24 hours, while open interest declined to about $2.11 billion. Futures volume remained exceptionally high near $8.3 billion, compared with roughly $760 million in spot volume.
Zcash Leverage Is Unwinding
The decline follows an extraordinary run in which Zcash gained more than 2,400% over one year and surged from below $500 in August to almost $1,300 this week.
Leverage grew alongside the price.
ZEC futures open interest had climbed toward $2.9 billion near the peak, meaning billions of dollars in leveraged positions were exposed to even a modest reversal. The decline toward roughly $2.1 billion now suggests traders are reducing that exposure as volatility rises.
That is the reverse of the dynamic behind Zcash’s earlier short squeeze, when bearish positions were being forced out while open interest exceeded $2.3 billion.
The key difference now is that the crowded bullish side is being tested.
$533M ETF Provides a Bullish Counterweight
Institutional demand has not disappeared.
Grayscale’s Zcash ETF (ZCSH) held approximately $533 million in assets under management as of Sept. 8, including about 464,515 ZEC, according to the fund’s official data.
That is up from about $463 million just days earlier, though part of the increase reflects ZEC’s rapid price appreciation rather than fresh inflows alone.
The ETF has helped provide a new institutional channel into a market already benefiting from renewed interest in privacy assets. Coinpaper’s broader privacy-coin analysis found that the sector was up 213% from Bitcoin’s 2025 peak, with Zcash responsible for much of that outperformance.
ZEC’s recent breakout above $1,200 was similarly supported by ETF demand, tightening supply and aggressive derivatives positioning.
$1,050 Becomes the Next Test
The immediate question is whether ZEC can stabilize around $1,050–$1,100.
A sustained hold would suggest buyers are still willing to absorb profit-taking after the parabolic rally. A clear break below $1,050, however, could accelerate deleveraging and expose lower technical support.
The underlying privacy and institutional narratives remain intact, but the latest numbers show that Zcash is no longer being driven only by spot demand.
With $2.1 billion of open interest and more than $8 billion of daily futures volume, leverage remains large enough to amplify the next move in either direction.
