Zcash Rises as Bitcoin Slumps Amid Market Volatility Ahead of Fed Decision

The cryptocurrency market capitalization has dipped by 2.3% over the past 24 hours to $2.58 trillion. Among the top 40 actively traded cryptocurrencies, only Zcash has seen a rise of 3.8%. Bitcoin fell below its consolidation range and dropped to a 3.5-week low after the CLARITY Act vote failed in the US Senate. However, it partially recovered to $75.9K by the start of active trading in Europe.

The market's lull can be attributed to expectations of signals from the Fed later on Wednesday, which have greater potential to influence volatility than the 25-basis-point rate hike already priced in. A drop in BTC to $72K does not break the medium-term bullish picture, but it may flush out short-term long positions.

Zcash has been the market leader over the past 30 days, gaining a remarkable 130%. It is currently trading near its highs from almost 10 years ago, while Bitcoin is down 40%, Ethereum down 52%, and XRP down 65%.