- Zcash has surged above $1,000, leaving three major short sellers with about $39 million in combined unrealized losses.
- The rally has also lifted the privacy sector, with strong ETF inflows adding to growing interest in ZEC.
Zcash (ZEC) has staged a stunning rally, breaking above $1,000 for the first time in nearly a decade and putting millions of dollars in short positions at risk.
ZEC is now trading near $1,124 after gaining about 120% in just one month. The surge has left three major traders facing roughly $39 million in combined unrealized losses as they continue betting against the rally.
Zcash Rally Puts Major Shorts Under Pressure
Zcash’s rapid rise is putting major short sellers under serious pressure. Data from Hyperliquid shows that three large ZEC short positions are now carrying about $39 million in combined unrealized losses.
The biggest loss belongs to trader Garrett Jin, who is short 39,760 ZEC from an average entry of $576.30. With ZEC trading near $1,124, the position has slipped about $21.94 million into the red, although liquidation would not occur until ZEC reaches around $2,540.
Jin entered the trade after closing a 1,332 BTC long position for a profit of roughly $2.7 million. His move to short ZEC has so far proved costly. Another trader is sitting on a 27,557 ZEC short opened around $644, with an unrealized loss of about $13.33 million.
A third position adds another $4.12 million to the combined losses, with 15,785 ZEC sold short. None of the three traders has closed their positions despite the sharp price increase.
This trader is down over $5M on his $ZEC short.
— CryptoGoos (@cryptogoos) September 7, 2026
Previously, he made +$9M in 6 weeks by winning 26 trades in a row.
He remains fully convinced and is not closing his trade.
What does he know? pic.twitter.com/u4eed3sj19
There is one small cushion for the bears. Positive funding rates have allowed Jin to collect about $554,850 since opening the short, as traders holding long positions pay funding to shorts. Still, those payments remain small compared with the losses piling up as ZEC continues its explosive climb.
Privacy Coins Outperform the Wider Crypto Market
Zcash’s rally comes as privacy-focused cryptocurrencies outperform the wider market. Bitcoin remains about 36% below its October 2025 peak, while the median top-200 cryptocurrency is down roughly 58%.
Privacy coins have moved in the opposite direction, gaining about 213% since October, according to Glassnode. The sector’s market value has also climbed from $7.1 billion to $33.6 billion over the past year.
ZEC has driven much of that growth, accounting for about 62% of the sector’s market value after gaining roughly 2,496% in 12 months. Even without ZEC, the wider privacy sector is still up about 85%.
Zcash ETF Adds Institutional Interest
Institutional interest in Zcash has also grown since the launch of the first US spot Zcash ETF. Grayscale’s fund began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25 and has already attracted about $463 million.
At the same time, heavy leverage is adding another layer of risk to the ZEC rally. Futures open interest has climbed to around $2.56 billion, according to CoinGlass, leaving traders vulnerable to large liquidations if the market suddenly reverses.
For now, ZEC remains one of the strongest performers in the privacy sector. Its break above $1,000 marks a major price milestone and puts both bulls and short sellers in a critical position as the rally continues.
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