Zcash (ZEC) has inflicted heavy losses on bearish traders following another leg higher.
Roughly $54.3 million worth of leveraged ZEC positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to derivatives data provided by CoinGlass.
Shorts accounted for an overwhelming $48.91 million of the total, compared with just $5.39 million in long liquidations.
This means roughly 90% of all ZEC liquidations came from traders betting on the price falling.
ZEC recently traded around $1,220, up roughly 19% over 24 hours, with its market capitalization climbing above $20 billion.
Zcash is now the ninth-biggest cryptocurrency in the world, CoinGecko data shows.
ZEC has gained more than 130% over the past month and more than 2,700% over the past year.
Shorts getting crushed across the board
Binance accounted for the largest portion of the liquidation wave. Approximately $20.69 million in ZEC positions were wiped out. Around $17.5 million of those were shorts.
Hyperliquid followed with $14.09 million in liquidations, almost all of which came from short positions.
The ETF tailwind
Zcash is having strong momentum due to the ETF tailwind.
Grayscale launched its Zcash ETF, trading under the ZCSH ticker on NYSE Arca, on Aug. 25 after converting its existing Zcash Trust.
The product became the first U.S.-listed ETF offering direct exposure to ZEC.
By Sept. 4, the fund had already attracted at least $34.4 million in net inflows.
Its assets subsequently climbed above $400 million as ZEC's price continued to appreciate.
The ETF gives investors access to Zcash through traditional brokerage accounts without requiring them to directly hold the cryptocurrency. This boosts demand for an asset with a relatively constrained circulating supply.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
