{"id":72854,"date":"2026-05-21T09:29:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/zec-hits-686-amid-28m-liquidations-as-analyst-warn-of-coordinated-squeeze\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:29:44","slug":"zec-hits-686-amid-28m-liquidations-as-analyst-warn-of-coordinated-squeeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/zec-hits-686-amid-28m-liquidations-as-analyst-warn-of-coordinated-squeeze\/","title":{"rendered":"ZEC Hits $686 Amid $28M Liquidations as Analyst Warn of Coordinated Squeeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Key Takeaways<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">On May 20, privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged over 17% in six hours to cross an $11 billion market cap.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">The ZEC rally triggered $28.25 million in liquidations and saw it eclipse rival token Monero.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">To enter the top 10 crypto assets, ZEC must hit $1,000 to flip DOGE\u2019s $16.25 billion valuation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Zcash Hits New YTD High<\/h2>\n<p> <span>Privacy coin<\/span> Zcash (ZEC) surged to a new year-to-date high on May 20 amid a tepid <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> rally that also saw <span>bitcoin<\/span> briefly reclaim $78,000. Market data show ZEC jumped from $568 to an intraday peak of $686 in just over six hours, an increase of more than 17% over a 24-hour window.<\/p>\n<p> <iframe src=\"https:\/\/markets.bitcoin.com\/crypto\/zcash\/embed\" width=\"100%\" style=\"max-height:500px;height:500px;border:none;overflow:hidden;border-radius:4px\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"zcash market data\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p>Although it later retreated slightly, the <span>privacy coin<\/span> was still above $660 at the time of writing at 3:18 a.m. EST on May 21, leaving its daily gains well above 10%. ZEC\u2019s latest surge lifted its weekly gains just above 25% and more than 90% since the beginning of the month. As a consequence, the <span>privacy coin<\/span>, which kicked off the month with an aggregate value of under $6 billion, saw its <span>market cap<\/span> surpass the $11 billion threshold.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, ZEC\u2019s latest parabolic rally saw $28.25 million in leveraged positions on the asset liquidated over 24 hours, the second highest this year. Coinglass data show liquidated short bets accounted for nearly $26.5 million, with the largest single <span>liquidation<\/span> of $2.68 million recorded.<\/p>\n<p>Since early May, ZEC\u2019s value has <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/zcash-surges-past-600-as-traders-drive-40-spike-flipping-monero-by-market-cap\/\">climbed steadily<\/a>, fueled by high-profile <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/raoul-pal-backs-zcash-as-bitcoins-younger-sibling-while-zec-climbs-8-outpacing-altcoins\/\">endorsements<\/a> from advocates who view it as the true embodiment of financial privacy\u2014a trait critics argue <span>bitcoin<\/span> has lost. This renewed privacy narrative, coupled with an architecture widely considered superior to its rivals, helped ZEC eclipse Monero, which held a $7.3 billion <span>market cap<\/span> at the time of writing.<\/p>\n<p>ZEC\u2019s resurgence has even caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/currencies\/zcash-crypto-winklevoss-78d71d51?mod=e2tw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dubbed<\/a> the token a \u201cmore secret version of <span>bitcoin<\/span>.\u201d Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale contends that financial privacy will define the next <span>crypto<\/span> cycle, with ZEC leading the charge.<\/p>\n<p>On social media, some supporters of the <span>privacy coin<\/span>, like David Hoffman, believe ZEC \u2014 currently ranked 13th \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TrustlessState\/status\/2056711855314215412\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deserves<\/a> a spot in the top 10 digital assets by <span>market cap<\/span>. However, for the <span>privacy coin<\/span> to achieve that, its price will have to surpass the $1,000 threshold to overtake DOGE, whose <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-a-market-cap\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">market cap<\/a> stood at $16.25 billion. The last time ZEC traded above $1,000 was in the fourth quarter of 2016.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_815866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-815866\" style=\"width:1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-815866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Gladstein\u2019s May 20 X post on Zcash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, some critics see <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/udiWertheimer\/status\/2057244147439079841\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">risks associated<\/a> with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-privacy-coins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">privacy coin<\/a>\u2019s sudden surge. Ted Pillows argued that the jump was, in fact, a short squeeze disguised as organic demand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZcash hasn\u2019t suddenly solved adoption, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-liquidity\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">liquidity<\/a>, or regulatory headwinds overnight,\u201d Pillows said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TedPillows\/status\/2057187180293022028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">post<\/a> on X. \u201cThis looks far more like a coordinated squeeze than organic demand. Low float + thin <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-liquidity\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">liquidity<\/a> + aggressive perp positioning = violent upside candles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/zec-hits-686-amid-28m-liquidations-as-analyst-warn-of-coordinated-squeeze\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways On May 20, privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged over 17% in six hours to cross an $11 billion market cap. The ZEC rally triggered $28.25 million in liquidations and saw it eclipse rival token Monero. To enter the top 10 crypto assets, ZEC must hit $1,000 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":72855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}