Zcash Skyrockets: 17% Surge, 28M Liquidation, Is It a Squeeze?

Zcash, that beguiling privacy coin, leapt over 17% within six hours, a gallant gallop that vaulted it to a year‑to‑date pinnacle. The rally saw its monthly gains spine‑rattle past 90% and its market cap gallop past the glittering $11 billion threshold, eclipsing the erstwhile rival Monero.

Key Takeaways
On May 20, privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged over 17% in six hours, crossing the $11 billion market cap.
The ZEC rally triggered $28.25 million in liquidations and saw it eclipse rival token Monero.
To enter the top 10 crypto assets, ZEC must hit $1,000, thus flipping DOGE’s $16.25 billion valuation.

Zcash Hits New YTD High

Zcash (ZEC), the cryptographic enamoured of secrecy, vaulted to a new year‑to‑date high on May 20 amid a walking‑slow crypto rally that also had Bitcoin in brief possession of the $78,000 club. Market data reveal ZEC leapt from $568 to an intraday zenith of $686 in just over six hours, an increase exceeding 17% over a 24‑hour window.

Though the surge receded slightly, the privacy coin remained comfortably above $660 as of 3:18 a.m. EST on May 21, their daily gains still comfortably in the 10% stratosphere. ZEC’s latest flight lifted its weekly gains just above 25% and more than 90% since the month’s commencement. Consequently, the privacy coin, which began the month at a modest $6 billion, saw its market cap transcend the $11 billion mark.

Meanwhile, ZEC’s parabolic sprint dented $28.25 million in leveraged positions within 24 hours, the second highest liquidation spree this year. Coinglass data show short bets accounting for nearly $26.5 million, with the largest single liquidation of $2.68 million.

Since early May, ZEC’s value has climbed steadily, buoyed by high‑profile endorsements from advocates who herald it as the truest embodiment of financial privacy-a trait critics claim Bitcoin has lost. Its renewed privacy narrative, coupled with an architecture deemed superior by many, allowed ZEC to eclipse Monero, which boasted a $7.3 billion market cap at the time of writing.

ZEC’s resurgence even caught the eye of The Wall Street Journal, which recently dubbed the token a “more secret version of Bitcoin.” Meanwhile, digital asset manager Grayscale argues that privacy will define the next crypto cycle, with ZEC leading the parade.

On social media, supporters of the privacy coin, such as David Hoffman, claim ZEC-currently ranked 13th-deserves a spot in the top 10 digital assets by market cap. Yet for the privacy coin to claim that honor, its price must surpass the $1,000 threshold to overtake DOGE, whose market cap stood at $16.25 billion. The last time ZEC traversed above $1,000 was in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Meanwhile, critics have raised concerns about the privacy coin’s sudden ascent. Ted Pillows suggests the jump is less a flourish of organic demand and more a coordinated squeeze masquerading as market enthusiasm.

“Zcash hasn’t suddenly solved adoption, liquidity, or regulatory headwinds overnight,” Pillows mused in a post on X. “This looks far more like a coordinated squeeze than organic demand. Low float + thin liquidity + aggressive perpetual positioning = violent upside candles.”

2026-05-21 12:27

Zcash Hits New YTD High

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