Bitcoin and major altcoins are posting heavy losses. Among larger assets, Zcash became the worst performer: the privacy coin dropped roughly 22% in the past 24 hours and more than 33% over the week.
Amid the sell-off came a warning from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin — though not about the price. In a post on X, he criticized Zcash’s token-weighted governance, arguing that it empowers large holders and prioritizes short-term price incentives over privacy. “Privacy is exactly what gets lost over time if you leave it to the average token holder,” he wrote.
According to Bitcoin maximalist Max Keiser, however, any help — even from Buterin himself — is already too late. He claims the “pump-and-dump” in Zcash has finally ended. “A return to 55 dollars seems inevitable,” Keiser wrote on X.
Since early October, Zcash surged from 74 dollars to nearly 700 dollars by mid-November, before falling back toward 363 dollars. Has the ZEC rally already exhausted itself?
Zcash Trend and Market Structure
Over the past 12–24 hours, ZEC traded between a 351.28-dollar low and a 430.16-dollar high across the last 3–6 four-hour candles. The latest close at 363.78 dollars sits far below the previous day’s 427.94-dollar close — a sharp single-day decline. Market cap currently stands near 5.9 billion dollars. Short-term price action is dominated by a steep downward impulse with wide candle spreads.
Technical Picture
ZEC is trading well below the 20-day EMA (437.28 dollars) and continues to print lower highs and lower lows — a clear short-term bearish structure. Key support sits at 351.28 dollars (current daily low), with resistance at 430.16 dollars (latest swing high) and again at the 20-day EMA at 437.28 dollars. As long as ZEC stays below the EMA-20, the technical bias remains bearish.
Momentum Check
The RSI (14) is hovering near 36.5, indicating weak momentum without a clear oversold signal. MACD histogram shows fading negative acceleration — suggesting early signs of short-term stabilization.
ZEC Volatility and Risk Outlook
Current Bollinger Band width is about 138.51 dollars (upper band at 512.37 dollars, lower at 373.86 dollars), indicating elevated — but not extreme — volatility. The market remains in a tense, downward-leaning phase as long as ZEC stays below the 20-day EMA.
Short-Term Outlook
Near-term outlook remains neutral-to-bearish: momentum is soft, volatility elevated, and the price remains below the EMA-20. Key supports sit at 351.28 dollars (current low) and 320 dollars (psychological level). Resistance levels are at 430.16 dollars and the EMA-20 at 437.28 dollars.
A breakout above 437.28 dollars would ease selling pressure and open the door to a rebound toward the 500–600-dollar range. A breakdown below 351.28 dollars may accelerate declines toward 220–330 dollars. For now, strict risk management is essential. Any bullish signals will require a clean daily close above the 20-day EMA with volume confirmation.
Three Possible ZEC Scenarios
| Scenario | Target Range (USD) | Probability | Invalidation Level | Key Levels | Triggers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | 351.28 – 430.16 | 45% | 325 | Support at 351.28 (daily low), resistance at 430.16 USD, EMA-20 at 437.28 USD, lower Bollinger band near 373.86 USD | RSI stabilizes between 30–50, price holds above 351.28 USD, EMA-20 at 437.28 USD remains short-term resistance |
| Bullish | 437.28 – 600 | 20% | 420 | Break above EMA-20 at 437.28 USD; upper BB at 512.37 USD; next fib target (61.8%) near 577.9 USD | Strong close above EMA-20 on rising volume; RSI breaks above 50; MACD turns positively accelerated |
| Bearish | 220 – 350 | 35% | 440 | Critical support at 351.28 USD; psychological 300 level; EMA-20 at 437.28 acts as invalidation | Close below 351.28 USD with rising sell volume; RSI drops under 30; EMA-20 stays firmly above price |