ZEC sees a 1080.79% increase over the past year as $59M flows in from institutions, raising concerns about short position risks

As of NOV 16 2025,

experienced a 0.95% decrease over the past 24 hours, settling at $677.12. However, over the past week, month, and year, the asset has risen by 49.88%, 64.21%, and 1080.79%, respectively. These numbers highlight significant long-term growth, despite recent short-term fluctuations.

The largest ZEC short position on Hyperliquid is now facing an unrealized loss of $20 million, as the whale behind the trade continues to average down on a 5x leveraged short that began on October 11. This position, which started at $360, is at risk of liquidation at $1,084, and was recently reinforced with an additional $5 million USDC margin. This move demonstrates a strong bearish outlook in the face of a sharp rally, with the same trader also holding a 15x leveraged ETH short that currently shows an unrealized profit of $7 million.

Meanwhile, Zcash (ZEC) has caught the eye of major investors, with Winklevoss Capital and Leap Therapeutics (now known as Cypherpunk Technologies) investing $59 million. This is a notable milestone for the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency, which has also launched voting for its Q4 2025 Coinholder-Directed Grants Program. The voting period will remain open until November 25 at 11:59 PM UTC, encouraging the community to participate in funding decisions.

Experts believe that the combination of institutional backing and Zcash’s privacy features, along with its expanding user base, could further fuel upward

. On the other hand, Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, has recommended that individual investors focus on rather than ZEC for privacy-related needs, pointing to the advancements of the Lightning Network.

Backtest Hypothesis

To assess how ZEC might perform during periods of extreme price movement, a backtest could model the asset’s behavior around times when the 1-year return surpassed +1080.79%. Such a scenario took place between 2022 and 2025. A comprehensive backtesting approach would identify all similar historical events and examine the average performance after each event within a set timeframe.

Essential parameters for this backtest include:

1. Trading Pair / Exchange: Unless otherwise noted, use ZEC-USDT on Binance (daily closing prices).
2. Event Definition: The backtest will analyze every occurrence where ZEC’s 1-year return exceeded +1080.79%, treating each as a separate event.
3. Evaluation Window: Track performance from 5 days before each event up to 60 trading days after, to capture both pre- and post-event trends and price action.

By focusing on the effects of these rare, significant price spikes, the backtest can help determine whether such events are typically followed by further gains or if they prompt profit-taking and downward corrections. This methodology fits ZEC’s current technical landscape, which features both strong institutional inflows and aggressive leveraged short positions.