Garrett Jin's Zcash (ZEC) Short Sits on $21.94M Unrealized Loss

Whale Shorts Bleed $39M

Zcash's (ZEC) relentless rally has turned its most prominent bears into the market's heaviest losers. The privacy coin is up roughly 120% over the past month, crossing $1,000 for the first time in nearly a decade before pushing past $1,200 for the first time since 2018 and tagging an intraday high near $1,250. On Hyperliquid, trader Garrett Jin — wallet 0x92ea...50e9 — is short 39,760 ZEC, about $44.86 million in notional, built at an average entry of $576.30. On-chain tracking shows he closed his entire 1,332 BTC long, a $105.4 million position, for a $2.7 million profit before rotating fully into shorting Zcash's shielded privacy model. That ZEC bet is now down $21.94 million and liquidates at $2,540.47. Two more wallets are trapped alongside him: 0xdd53...2b13 is short 27,557 ZEC from $644 with a $13.33 million paper loss, while 0x362a...1d9f is down $4.12 million on 15,785 ZEC. Together the three carry roughly $39 million in unrealized losses, cushioned by the $554,850 in funding Jin has collected — with positive funding rates, longs pay shorts.

closed his entire 1,332 BTC longhttps://x.com/lookonchain/status/2096970932900569591

Privacy Sector's $33.6B Year

These bears are fighting more than a single token. On-chain analytics firm Glassnode found that privacy coins are the only sector still above its level when Bitcoin peaked in October 2025: BTC sits 36% below that high, the median top-200 asset trades 58% lower, yet the privacy complex is up 213% over the same stretch. The sector's valuation has expanded from roughly $7.1 billion a year ago to $33.6 billion today — a surge our privacy coin sector coverage ties largely to ZEC, which Glassnode puts at 62% of the sector by market cap after a 2,496% gain in 12 months. Strip ZEC out, and the remaining privacy basket is still up 85%. That rare divergence explains why the Zcash trade has become this cycle's most contested short, and why the FUD around it has failed to force any of the three whales to close.

foundhttps://x.com/glassnode/status/2096943736584302607

Grayscale ETF Draws $463M

Institutional demand has reinforced the move. Grayscale listed the first US spot Zcash exchange-traded fund on NYSE Arca on August 25, and the fund has since gathered $463 million — a pace few projected for a privacy asset historically weighed down by its trusted-setup legacy, which we document in our guide to the Zcash Ceremony. Leverage, however, is now stacked on both sides of the ledger. ZEC futures open interest stands near $2.56 billion, meaning the same leverage currently punishing the bears would swing against longs if the privacy bid cools. For readers weighing exposure to an asset this extended, our step-by-step how to buy Zcash walkthrough covers custody and execution basics before any entry decision.

RSI Divergence Flags Correction Risk

Technical evidence now warns the rally's character is changing. After topping near $1,250, ZEC had slipped back to roughly $1,124 by mid-session Monday. The first warning is momentum: the relative strength index (RSI), a gauge of move speed and strength, failed to confirm the higher price high, stalling near 74 — below the peak it printed during August's run from the $880 area. The second is extension: even after the retreat, ZEC trades about 33% above its 20-day moving average near $847, with the 50-day around $650, leaving a wide technical gap beneath price. The $1,040–$1,080 band — the most recent breakout zone — is the first critical support; holding it could set up a retest of $1,200–$1,250. A breakdown would put $950 in play, then the $800–$850 consolidation shelf that overlaps the fast-rising 20-day average. The uptrend remains intact, but demand must now be more aggressive to sustain it. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Binance.

$1,086 Line Divides Bulls and Bears

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates the $1,142 resistance at 76/100, driven by confluence of the Fibonacci 0.114 extension, the daily Pivot Point and an RSI overbought signal — with spot at $1,137, down 4.11% in 24 hours, the market sits just under it. First support at $1,086.57 scores 73/100 from Flip R→S, Fibonacci 0.214 and S1 sources; below that, $888.37 carries a 68/100 rating from Ichimoku Kijun, Bollinger Band Middle and SMA 20 confluence. Positioning is mildly pro-long: funding at 0.0047% and $905.4 million in open interest across Binance, Bybit and HyperLiquid, with Fear & Greed at 69 (Greed). Bull case: a hold at $1,086 opens a retest of $1,142, then $1,257. Bear case: RSI at 74.68 with a bullish MACD fading tips price through $1,086 toward $1,033 and $888. The thesis invalidates on a daily close below $1,086.