- Zcash (ZEC) broke above $500 for the first time since 2018, gaining over 20% in a single day.
- An anonymous trader made about $2.7 million in unrealized profits as ZEC’s network hit record hashrate levels.
- Analysts see room for further upside toward $800, but warn of possible short-term corrections.
Zcash just did something it hasn’t done in years — it broke through the $500 mark for the first time since early 2018. The privacy-focused coin climbed more than 20% in a single day, now trading near $514 and catching everyone’s attention. This milestone follows weeks of steady growth through October, even as other parts of the crypto market were shaky. The move pushed ZEC’s market cap to roughly $8.46 billion, putting it back among the top 20 cryptocurrencies globally — not bad for a project many had written off.
Traders Cashing In Big
According to data from Lookonchain, one anonymous trader made a bold move earlier this week — creating a new wallet and going all-in on ZEC. They grabbed around 32,000 coins, worth over $16 million at the time. With ZEC’s explosive rally, that position is now sitting on about $2.7 million in unrealized profit. Pretty wild for just a few days of trading. And behind the scenes, Zcash’s network itself has been on fire — its hashrate spiked to a record-breaking 12.53 GS/s, hinting at growing miner confidence and network activity.
Bullish Momentum Meets Overheated Signals
The charts look strong, but maybe a bit too strong. On the daily timeframe, ZEC’s price is hugging the upper Bollinger Band — usually a sign of strong bullish energy, but also a caution that things might be getting overheated. The RSI has also soared past 70, signaling overbought conditions. If the rally cools off, the nearest support sits around $450, with a firmer safety zone between $390 and $400. On the upside, if the bulls keep pushing, resistance levels at $550 to $580 are next, and a breakout from there could take the coin as high as $620 or beyond.
What’s Next for ZEC?
Market watchers at CoinCodex have already bumped their year-end target to $800 after the coin smashed their initial $500 goal. Still, not everyone’s convinced the uptrend can last without a breather. Some analysts, like Soul, are advising early investors to lock in profits, warning that “you should never marry your bag.” For now, ZEC’s got momentum, hype, and a touch of nostalgia — the same mix that once fueled its rise years ago.
