Zcash Soars While Bitcoin Stalls – A Tale of Two Coins!

by

Markets

What to know: 🤡

  • BTC remains rangebound around $107,800, with key support near $102,000 and resistance around $120,000, levels that could determine the next major move. (Think of it as a financial seesaw-only the rules are written in invisible ink.)
  • ZEC has soared 461% in 30 days amid growing interest in shielded tokens, which hide transaction details and reduce sellable supply. (A privacy cult for the digital age-suddenly, everyone’s a secret agent! 🕵️‍♂️)
  • Despite ZEC’s rally, most altcoins remain under pressure, ASTER is down 33% on the week, and plasma (XPL) has dropped 25% as hype fades. (The altcoin market’s equivalent of a dramatic exit at a dinner party. 🎩)

The crypto market fluctuated between key levels of support and resistance on Wednesday, with bitcoin trading at $107,800 and ether at $3,830, demonstrating indecision from traders and holders. (A financial version of “I’m fine, really!”)

A breakdown in bitcoin price below $102,000 would indicate the continuation of a bearish trend that would likely prompt an accelerated drawdown to at least $98,400, which would have an amplified effect on the altcoin market due to a relative lack of liquidity. (Imagine a teeter-totter where the ‘bear’ side is winning-nobody’s happy, but the rules are unclear.)

If bitcoin can claw its way back to around $120,000, however, that would indicate a reversal from the short-term downtrend and would put fresh record highs back on the card. (A Hail Mary pass for the crypto gods. 🏈)

Derivatives Positioning

By Omkar Godbole

  • futures open interest (OI) has surged 22% to $303 million in the past 24 hours, leading growth in select few major coins such as ENA, BCH, HYPE, ADA, AVAX and BTC. (A frenzy of activity, like a stock market version of a TikTok dance challenge. 💸)
  • Futures tied to LINK, XPL and PUMP experienced capital outflows, reflecting heightened investor risk aversion amid volatile market swings. (The financial equivalent of a panic attack in a crowded room. 🚨)
  • Annualized perpetual funding rates for most major cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH, remain close to zero, indicating a balanced derivatives market. (A rare moment of peace in a world of chaos. 🌿)
  • BTC’s order book heat map showed a cluster of sell orders around $111K in the Binance-listed BTC/USDT perp. (A digital battlefield, where every tick is a strategic move. 🗡️)
  • On the CME, OI in ether futures hit a record 2.43 million ETH, with OI in options steady near the lifetime peak of 297K ETH. BTC, however, continued to lag in terms of futures OI, which held at roughly 142K, significantly lower than the peak of over 200K late last year. The divergence points to institutional investors’ preference for ETH over BTC. (A love triangle between BTC, ETH, and the institutional crowd. 💔)
  • On Deribit, flows featured short strangles and call overwriting strategies in BTC, with some demand for puts as protection against deeper slides. In ETH’s case, the focus was near-dated put spreads and calendar spreads, according to Wintermute. (A high-stakes game of chess, but with more numbers. 🧩)
  • In BTC’s case, puts traded at a premium to calls across all tenors. However, TH options exhibited bullishness beyond the December expiry. (A financial version of “I’ll believe it when I see it.”)

Token Talk

By Oliver Knight

  • continued its ascent on Wednesday, leading the otherwise weak altcoin market with a 9.2% move to the upside over 24 hours. (A champagne toast to the altcoin market-only the bubbly is made of code. 🥂)
  • The privacy token is now up a staggering 461% in the past month and continues to hit record highs. (A rags-to-riches story, but with fewer rags and more wallets. 💸)
  • The catalyst behind ZEC’s rise is boosted sentiment around the growth of shielded tokens, which currently account for 27.5% of the total supply. (A secret society of tokens, where everyone’s hiding their cards. 🃏)
  • Shielding is a privacy mechanism that masks transactions. Shielded tokens must be held in a non-custodial wallet, in other words not an exchange. (The digital equivalent of a locked diary. 🔒)
  • With so much supply held in private wallets, the premise is that sellable supply is constricted. (A treasure hunt where the treasure is hidden in plain sight. 🗺️)
  • Couple a reduction in supply with surging demand and this is the result: A relentless rally to the upside that has outperformed almost every crypto token in circulation. (A rollercoaster with no brakes. 🎢)
  • ZEC’s gain has been a rare sign of optimism over the past few weeks as several other tokens have plummeted to multimonth lows. (The only bright spot in a sea of gloom. ☀️)
  • ASTER, which was often dubbed the plat du jour in September, sank below $1.00 on Tuesday to compound a 33% slide over the past week. (A dramatic exit, much like a Shakespearean tragedy. 🎭)
  • Recently issued plasma tokens have also found themselves on the sell-side of order books, with demand and hype quickly fading resulting in a 25% drawdown in the past seven days. (A fleeting fling, now over. 💔)

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2025-10-22 16:37