Zcash and Monero emerged as the top performers among major cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ethereum posted minimal gains. Bitcoin traded at $86,264.06, up 0.59%, while Ethereum sat at $2,714.39, up 0.34%. The broader crypto market, valued just over $3 trillion, remained essentially flat for the day.
Zcash climbed 3% and was trading at $1,372.69, recovering from a pullback off its recent peak near $1,600. Monero rose 2.14% to $562.32. By contrast, most other major cryptocurrencies drifted with minimal movement. Solana gained 1.4% and XRP 1.07%, while BNB lost 0.41% and Tron 0.22%.
Market Stalled by Mixed Macroeconomic Signals
The broader crypto market's flatness reflected uncertainty over interest rate policy. The Federal Reserve raised rates to 3.75%-4.00% on September 16, its first hike since July 2023. However, the September jobs report then showed just 29,000 new jobs created, far below the 84,000 economists expected, and unemployment ticked up to 4.2%. These mixed signals created a stalemate, with the initial rate hike offset by reduced odds of further increases.
Zcash: Recovery Within Constraints
Zcash remains about 19% below its late-September high of $1,698, despite today's gains. Grayscale's Zcash ETF experienced $30.25 million in outflows on October 1, though the fund has posted approximately $268 million in net inflows since launching on August 25. Over the previous 12 months, Zcash gained roughly 2,500%.
The recent rally came alongside two significant events: the launch of Grayscale's Zcash ETF on August 25 and a vote by coinholders on September 17, which passed 98.9%, to maintain Bitcoin-style halvings that keep the coin's inflation in check. The current pullback of 19% from September's peak is mild relative to Zcash's historical volatility, which included a 38% decline earlier this year during the Ironwood counterfeiting scare.
Monero Consolidating After Gains
Monero trades approximately 11% below its September high of $632.86, with a market cap of $10.57 billion, less than half of Zcash's $23.18 billion. Both privacy coins show signs of consolidation rather than breakout momentum on daily charts.
Bitcoin continues to display bullish technical signals, including a second golden cross where its 100-day exponential moving average crossed above the 200-day average, though it remains below resistance at $87,354.
