Over 1% of ZEC Supply Unshielded in Early 2026, Sparking Sell-Off Concerns

In the early days of 2026, holders unshielded a big quantity of Zcash (ZEC) and introduced it into circulation. This exercise passed off as privateness cash continued to underperform the broader market.

How might ZEC’s worth be affected? The following evaluation explores the small print.

More Than 200,000 ZEC Unshielded in Early 2026

Unshielding refers back to the course of of changing funds from shielded pools, which shield privateness, to clear swimming pools. This step is usually taken to allow change buying and selling or promoting.

On-chain knowledge indicate that in the course of the first week of January, a holder withdrew greater than 200,000 ZEC from shielded swimming pools. This quantity equals roughly 1.2% of ZEC’s circulating provide.

This transfer slowed the expansion of ZEC held in shielded swimming pools. The whole fell again to round 4.86 million ZEC after peaking above 5 million on the finish of final yr.

Arkham knowledge indicates that the holder deposited ZEC into shielded swimming pools simply over two weeks earlier, earlier than continuing to unshield the funds.

The chart signifies that deposits into shielded swimming pools are now not accelerating, as they did in Q3 2025. Activity has moved sideways. While this doesn’t verify a reversal, it means that bullish sentiment is now not strengthening because it had been.

Meanwhile, on-chain monitoring account LookOnChain reported {that a} whale despatched 74,002 ZEC, price about $35.75 million, to Binance. This switch occurred simply sooner or later after the big unshielding occasion. Many buyers view this as a possible signal of preparation for promoting.

“Seeing a whale ship 74,000 ZEC to Binance undoubtedly makes me pause. Moves like this are hardly ever random, normally positioning or liquidity prep,” investor Ted said.

Additionally, ZEC ranks among the many altcoins with the most important by-product capital outflows over the previous week, in line with CoinAnk. The platform additionally studies that quick positions on ZEC proceed to extend.

In truth, whereas the altcoin market in early 2026 reveals indicators of restoration, with TOTAL3 rising from $825 billion to $885 billion, a 7% enhance, ZEC’s worth fell from $530 to $490, a decline of roughly 7%.

ZEC’s divergence from the general altcoin market capitalization raises questions on whether or not investors are abandoning expectations for ZEC in favor of other altcoins.

Not solely ZEC, but additionally different privateness cash, corresponding to Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH), have underperformed the broader market in the early days of the yr. This pattern makes privateness the weakest-performing sector, in line with Artemis.

However, Grayscale just lately highlighted Zcash (ZEC) as a promising altcoin. The agency additionally expects the privacy sector to continue growing strongly in 2026, supported by rising institutional curiosity.

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