Zcash price crashes 18% after vertical rally – is more downside ahead?

After a sharp rally to $176, Zcash price is now pulling back, with initial support likely around $120 and a deeper correction potentially extending to $90.

After the recent parabolic rally that topped out near $176, fueled by Grayscale Zcash Trust launch and hype around ThorSwap support integration, Zcash (ZEC) price has begun to unwind aggressively. The token, currently trading around $144, has dropped roughly 18% from its peak, as profit-taking accelerates following an overheated surge.

Zcash price has now pulled back to the SMA 7, which acted as dynamic support during the explosive rally. However, with the RSI still overheated at 75, the market remains overbought, suggesting that further cooling is likely before any sustainable continuation move.

The initial retracement support lies near the 0.382 Fib around $122, aligning closely with the first major zone of prior consolidation and a likely area where short-term buyers could step in. A deeper correction could extend toward the 0.618 level near $90, which would represent a more complete mean reversion after such a steep vertical move.

Zcash: a privacy haven amid tightening AML regulations

As AML frameworks tighten, regulators around the world are moving to enforce stricter identity verification, transaction reporting, and wallet monitoring requirements across digital asset platforms.

Zcash stands out in this evolving landscape because it allows users to maintain confidentiality through shielded transactions using zero-knowledge proofs. In these shielded transactions, the sender, recipient, and transaction amount can remain hidden.

This positions privacy coins like Zcash as a potential refuge for capital seeking discretion in an increasingly monitored financial environment. Whether that capital stems from legitimate privacy concerns or gray-market activity, the trend underscores a simple truth: the tighter AML frameworks become, the stronger the case for privacy solutions.

“Zcash investors seem to bet on illicit and gray-area funds shifting from Bitcoin and stablecoins to privacy coins as AML rules tighten,” said Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant.