ZEC Hits $686 Amid $28M Liquidations as Analyst Warn of Coordinated Squeeze

Zcash (ZEC) rose sharply on May 20, climbing from about $568 to an intraday peak near $686 in just over six hours. The move pushed ZEC above $660 afterward, leaving daily gains above 10% and weekly gains above 25%, with more than 90% growth since the start of the month. The rally increased ZEC’s market cap from under $6 billion to above $11 billion. Leveraged trading was heavily impacted, with $28.25 million in liquidations over 24 hours, including nearly $26.5 million from liquidated short positions. ZEC also overtook Monero, supported by renewed financial privacy narratives and endorsements, while some market commentary framed ZEC as a more secret version of bitcoin.

"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. Although it later retreated slightly, the privacy coin 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's latest surge lifted its weekly gains just above 25% and more than 90% since the beginning of the month."

"As a consequence, the privacy coin, which kicked off the month with an aggregate value of under $6 billion, saw its market cap surpass the $11 billion threshold. In the meantime, ZEC's 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 liquidation of $2.68 million recorded."

"Since early May, ZEC's value has climbed steadily, fueled by high-profile endorsements from advocates who view it as the true embodiment of financial privacy a trait critics argue bitcoin 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 market cap at the time of writing. ZEC's resurgence has even caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which recently dubbed the token a more secret version of bitcoin."

"Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale contends that financial privacy will define the next crypto cycle, with ZEC leading the charge. To enter the top 10 crypto assets, ZEC must hit $1,000 to flip DOGE's $16.25 billion valuation."

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