Zcash (ZEC) traded at $1,333.50 on Oct. 1, 2026, falling 7.29% in a single day. The decline dragged ZEC down 21% from its peak of $1,698 reached in late September. Prior to the correction, the token had logged a 253% rally from its base price of $480.72.
Capital Outflows Following Rally
The Grayscale Zcash ETF, ticker ZCSH, recorded net outflows of $30.25 million on Oct. 1. The tens-of-millions-dollar withdrawal coincided with the effective date of a 3-for-1 stock split for the ZCSH product.
Launched on Aug. 25, 2026, the investment vehicle had previously drawn $233 million in capital inflows through mid-September. The latest outflows bring cumulative net inflows into the ZCSH ETF to roughly $268 million.
Stolen Funds Enter Shielded Pool
Beyond standard exchange activity, the Zcash network saw an influx of stolen capital. On-chain investigator ZachXBT reported that 2,746 ZEC, worth approximately $3.9 million, flowed from addresses tied to the Bitget exchange exploiter into Zcash’s shielded pool. This feature obfuscates transaction trails, shutting down tracking paths for external observers.
ZachXBT’s flow findings immediately changed calculations of the exploit’s impact. Investigators recalculated additional transfers across both the Zcash and Tron blockchains, revising estimated total losses from the Bitget hack up to $387 million from an initial figure of $351.6 million.
Macro Conditions and Critical Levels
Macroeconomic factors also contributed to the shift in crypto market sentiment. Bitcoin briefly pushed toward $85,600 following the release of U.S. PCE inflation data, which came in below market expectations. However, the momentum failed to hold, and prices retreated shortly after.
In traditional financial markets, the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.29%. The CME FedWatch tool showed that the probability of the U.S. central bank raising interest rates in October dropped below 50%, marking a sharp reversal from earlier expectations of 70%.
Zcash’s technical indicators currently point to an imbalance in momentum. The 50-day Exponential Moving Average remains above the 200-day EMA line, keeping the bullish structure intact on paper. However, the Relative Strength Index has flattened at a neutral 50.2, while the ADX sits at 52.0 - a strong trend signal that lags behind the recent sell-off. Market analysts currently peg $1,233 as a critical support level that must hold, while setting $1,410.72 as the immediate recovery target.
For short-term traders, indicator setups that still appear safe often lag in capturing reality when tens of millions of dollars from institutional products and hacker-linked flows maneuver simultaneously.
Reported by Decrypt.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
