Zcash Tumbles Below $1,100 as Market Pullback Hits Altcoins

Bitcoin's relative stability couldn't shield Zcash from the broader market downturn. On Friday, the privacy-focused coin ZEC plummeted over 10%, dropping to $1,055 and briefly dipping below $1,100 before recovering to trade just above $1,090.

The decline dragged its market capitalization down from $20 billion to $18.5 billion, but it retained its status as the 10th-largest digital asset. Zcash's more significant losses were mirrored by other high-cap altcoins like XRP and SOL, which dropped 3% and slid below the $100 mark, respectively.

Bitcoin Cash plunged 8.5%, while ADA, LINK, and XLM declined 5.8%, 4%, and 3.3%. The aggregate altcoin market cap plummeted from $1.18 trillion to $1.17 trillion. However, a few assets bucked the trend, led by NEAR's 0.6% gain that brought its weekly increase to 20%.

Bitfinex analysts warned that high altcoin open interest makes them vulnerable to liquidations if bitcoin breaks its current range. They attributed recent altcoin gains to renewed risk appetite following ZEC's milestone move above $1,000 and a spot Zcash ETF launched two weeks ago, which attracted $500 million in assets.