Privacy-focused token Zcash retreated after weeks of rallying, which took its price to a high of $744 in January 2018.
Zcash began to rise in September from about $50, climbing consistently for weeks. The rise brought its market capitalization to above $10 billion, at one point boasting a yearly gain of more than 1,270%. Zcash subsequently surged into the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and now ranks as the 17th largest with a current market valuation of $8.11 billion.
Increased interest in privacy infrastructure and technical upgrades from the Electric Coin Company contributed to the rally, along with the rising popularity of the Zashi wallet.
At press time, Zcash was down 17.66% in the last 24 hours to $498. At one point on Tuesday, it fell 25%, with analysts indicating Zcash’s breathtaking rally might be starting to cool.
Since Nov. 7, following eight consecutive days of increases, ZEC will mark three out of four days in red.
Zcash’s drop follows a cool off in the privacy sector, with several related tokens posting significant losses.
Privacy tokens Monero, Dash, Decred, Zksync and Pirate Chain were trading down, with some posting double-digit losses in the range of 11% to 20%; Monero was only down 5% as it joined the privacy token rally later than others.
Zcash not a trade
Amid Zcash’s drop, Arthur Hayes posted his take on X, highlighting two outcomes for the Zcash price: either to go to $10,000 or $10.
“To sell, or not to sell, that is the question. ZEC to $10k or $10 ?” Hayes tweeted alongside a screenshot of a chart that reflected ZEC’s price drop.
Hayes’s tweet caught the attention of Thor Torrens, former U.S. advisor and a member of Zcash’s advisory panel, who reacted by saying, “Zcash is not a trade.”
“Zcash is not a trade. It is a buy and shield,” Torrens wrote. In the days ahead, it will be watched if the current Zcash price drop marks a temporary pause in the ongoing rally or a further drop might be ahead.