Zcash at $1,200: Garrett Jin shows $25.7 million in unrealized losses

Zcash rose above $1,200 on Sunday, September 7, reaching as high as $1,249. According to on-chain tracking by EmberCN, an address attributed to trader Garrett Jin holds a short of 32,760 ZEC opened at around $444, now showing approximately $25.7 million in unrealized losses. The attribution is based on address analysis and, on its own, does not constitute independent proof of ownership.

Zcash short shows $25.7 million in losses

Just three days ago, the same position showed approximately $18.5 million in unrealized losses as ZEC moved above $1,000. Bref Crypto was already tracking that first move above $1,000

Since then, Zcash has continued higher. Its peak at $1,249 brings its 30-day gain to approximately 134%, with a market capitalization close to $20 billion. ZEC is now among the ten largest cryptocurrencies by market value.

The position attributed to Jin is particularly sensitive to even the smallest move: with 32,760 ZEC sold short, every additional $100 increase adds approximately $3.28 million to the unrealized loss, all else being equal.

One figure helps put the reversal into perspective. In June, the same trader had made approximately $11.24 million on an earlier ZEC short. His current unrealized loss therefore represents approximately 2.3 times that profit.

It remains an accounting loss as long as the position is neither closed nor liquidated.

ETFs and derivatives are fueling an increasingly crowded rally

The short squeeze alone does not explain Zcash’s move.

On August 25, Grayscale converted its former Zcash Trust into a product listed on NYSE Arca. Since then, institutional access to ZEC has become much easier. Bref Crypto had already analyzed Grayscale’s bet on Zcash and privacy

In its official analysis, Grayscale presents Zcash as a distinct digital monetary asset, with a maximum supply of 21 million ZEC, a Proof-of-Work mechanism and the ability to conduct shielded transactions using zero-knowledge proofs. The asset manager nevertheless points to recent volatility estimated at 268%.

Leverage is also rising in derivatives. Available data puts ZEC open interest at around a record $2.4 billion. Approximately $38 million in shorts had already been liquidated during the initial move above $1,000.

That is the less comfortable side of the rally. The more open interest increases, the more a rapid move can force positions to close in either direction. Shorts have so far fueled forced buying. A sharp correction would subject overleveraged longs to the same mechanism.

Zcash is rising. Leverage is rising with it.

A distressed position is not yet a liquidation

Seeing $25.7 million in losses may give the impression that liquidation is near. The available data does not support reaching that conclusion so quickly.

The address attributed to Jin also holds a significant long Bitcoin position, valued at around $107 million. It showed approximately $4.42 million in unrealized gains, despite $2.05 million already paid in funding fees. These other assets help keep the account sufficiently capitalized.

The market is therefore watching ZEC’s ability to maintain its current levels more closely than the possible immediate liquidation of a single trader.

Zcash is also a protocol that has recently had to address serious technical questions. Bref Crypto notably documented the critical vulnerability discovered in Orchard. It was fixed without any known exploitation, but it is a reminder that a rising price does not eliminate the risks specific to the network.

The change since August is nevertheless difficult to ignore. A U.S. ETF, new miners, the return of the privacy narrative and forced short sellers defending increasingly higher levels: several drivers are now overlapping.

The Garrett Jin case is above all a striking illustration. At $444, the short still appeared defensible. Above $1,200, the same position becomes a very costly reminder of what leverage can produce when a market abruptly shifts regime.