* Zcash (ZEC) price defies bearish signals, extending into price discovery above $1500. * ZEC Short liquidations pile up as the bullish onslaught continues, and open interest clocks in at $3.47 billion. * Prolific trader among the shorts who have taken on massive losses betting against the privacy coin. Zcash price just pulled off a new all-time high (ATH), marking a major milestone for the crypto. This is despite previously demonstrating signs of a potential pullback, as the bulls continue with the relentless charge. Zcash price surged past $1500 for the first time in history, while achieving a new ATH of $1535 on Friday morning. The overall crypto market had priced in a rate hike and consequently reacted with a slight recovery in the second half of the week. ZEC crypto appears to have capitalized on the crypto market recovery. Zcash price action outdid most top coins, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, with fresh momentum propelling it aggressively into price discovery. ZEC price had previously hinted that the momentum was cooling off. The privacy coin previously formed bearish divergence with its RSI. The surprise uptick had noteworthy consequences. Bullish Zcash (ZEC) Price Triggers Spike in Liquidations The previous bearish divergence convinced plenty of ZEC crypto traders that the market was about to enter a dip. Roughly $26.5 million in shorts were liquidated in the last 24 hours, against only $5.1 billion in ZEC long liquidations. The ratio of liquidations was thus biased against shorts, indicating that more traders anticipated a retracement than an extended rally. Interestingly, the highest daily short liquidations observed this week was on Wednesday, at $48.9 million. ZEC bears getting wiped out heavily reflects heavy expectations of a retracement. Lookonchain noted that a prolific trader was one of the victims of the relentless bullish ZEC price. The trader, who reportedly held an $18.3 million short position, had previously won 26 consecutive trades. The Zcash trade has reportedly wiped out almost all of the trader's previous winnings. The narrative of this particular trader highlights the unexpected nature of the Zcash price push to $1500. However, the bullish performance was also a reminder of just how asset prices can behave unpredictably during price discovery. Grayscale might be at the center of the recent Zcash crypto demand surge. This is courtesy of its ZEC ETF, which started trading on the NYSE Arca on 25 August. It has seen significant demand, but a recent announcement has also built up more hype. Grayscale has announced a 3:1 split of the Zcash ETF shares. The company stated that the shares of the forward split will commence trading on 30 September. The decision was reportedly aimed at making sure the shares were more accessible to traders at a cheaper price level. What's Next For Zcash Price? Grayscale's involvement underscores robust demand. However, the split also suggests that the price may have gone up too quickly, so it is now being perceived as overbought. Meanwhile, the ZEC price chart also indicates that the bearish divergence was even more prominent. Moreover, futures data on Coinglass revealed the largest spike in negative funding rates since June. This spike was also accompanied by a new open interest peak at $3.47 billion. This was the highest open interest level that the privacy coin has ever achieved. These observations were relevant because they meant that leveraged trades had even more to lose. The elevated open interest and new historic high may incite traders to start taking profits. This could flip things, and a pullback would place current long positions in the liquidation crosshairs. Original Source: The Coin Republic
