Zcash rebounds 60% as shorts scramble, but one stubborn signal won't stop side-eyeing $500

Zcash [ZEC] climbed as high as $470 in early trading, extending a recovery of more than 60% from its crisis low of roughly $250 recorded on the 5th of June, when disclosure of a critical bug in the Orchard shielded pool raised concerns over the possible minting of counterfeit ZEC. Subsequent emergency upgrades restored normal network operations, and market capitalization recovered toward $7.2 billion. No evidence of exploitation has emerged, and on-chain activity remained stable through the episode, pointing to limited holder capitulation.

Spot flows over the past day drove much of the rebound. Three days ago, ZEC recorded net selling of $17.23 million against total sales of roughly $284 million. Netflow then flipped to net buying of $118.13 million over the past day, with a further $5.7 million in net buys still backing buyers. The 9th of June also recorded net buying, though the figure remains minimal and incomplete for the session, with total buys of $99,000 in the eight hours since the trading day began. After an exit of capital between the 1st and the 6th of June, roughly $84.02 billion has flowed back into the broader market.

Mining activity has tracked the price move, with Zcash's hashrate rising 10.6% over the past 24 hours to an estimated 17.80 GSol/s, slightly below the prior day's high of 19.68 GSol/s. Community sentiment climbed to 65%, with more than 175,000 votes cast over the past day leaning bullish.

Derivatives positioning tells a more cautious story. Open Interest stabilized near $1.06 billion without fresh expansion, spot cumulative volume delta and exchange flows remain uneven, and the Funding Rate sits at roughly -0.0700%, signaling that ZEC perpetual futures traders continue to favor shorts over longs. Crypto veteran Garrett Jin exited a position at $430.81 after entering near $626.47 and holding for over 16 days, locking in more than $11.2 million in profit on $35.9 million notional exposure. Should buyer dominance continue to expand, ZEC could reach $500.