Zcash (ZEC) jumped above $570 on May 14 after a Wall Street Journal article compared the privacy coin to Bitcoin, but the rally fizzled fast. By May 15, ZEC had slid to an intraday low of $532, triggering over $5.1 million in futures liquidations within 24 hours.
The WSJ trigger
The surge came from a Wall Street Journal piece that contrasted Bitcoin’s transparency with Zcash’s privacy features. The article didn’t name specific price targets, but the market reacted immediately — ZEC broke above $570 for the first time in weeks. The move was sharp but short-lived.
Liquidation wave and volume spike
The reversal hit leveraged traders hard. Over $5.1 million in Zcash futures positions were liquidated in the 24 hours leading to May 15, according to data from major exchanges. Spot trading volume hit nearly $256 million on May 15, while futures volume exploded to more than $2.7 billion — a ratio that shows heavy speculation. Futures open interest also tells a story: it stood at about $978 million on May 15, down from $1.52 billion on May 9. That’s a 36% drop in less than a week, suggesting traders are closing positions rather than adding new ones.
Grayscale's Zcash Trust
For institutional investors, the Grayscale Zcash Trust (ticker: $ZCSH) remains the only pure-play publicly traded Zcash fund globally. The trust’s performance often mirrors ZEC’s spot price moves, and this week’s volatility is no exception. Whether the WSJ-driven attention brings new capital to the trust — or just more churn — is an open question.
Price context
ZEC hit a recent high of $642 before the pullback, and had recovered from a low of $317 on April 29. The token tested support near $185 back on February 5 during a broader crypto sell-off. The current swing from $570 to $532 fits a pattern of sharp rallies followed by quick corrections. The open interest decline suggests the futures market is shedding leverage, which could reduce the odds of another violent move — but Zcash remains one of the most volatile assets in the top 50 by market cap.
The next few days will show whether ZEC can hold above $530 or if the WSJ bump was just a one-day headline trade.
