Zcash (ZEC) faces mounting pressure as approximately $15 million in bearish derivatives positioning aligns with a deteriorating technical structure, though mega whale wallets have quietly increased their holdings by 4.21% over the past 24 hours in what appears to be early accumulation near key support levels.

What Happened: Bearish Setup Intensifies

A head-and-shoulders pattern is forming on the daily chart with the neckline converging near $301. The structure typically signals trend exhaustion.

Zcash currently trades below the right shoulder, keeping a potential 36% breakdown pattern active. Between Jan. 14 and Jan. 27, price formed a lower high while the Relative Strength Index stalled near 49 instead of pushing higher.

On Binance's ZEC perpetual pair, over $15 million sits in short liquidation leverage compared to roughly $6 million in long positions. Shorts outweigh longs by more than 2.5x.

Meanwhile, top 100 Zcash addresses increased holdings by 4.21% in the past 24 hours, lifting their combined balance to 44,264 ZEC, according to Nansen data. Spot market activity has fallen sharply, with net outflows dropping 87% from a peak near $15.60 million to around $2.04 million.

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Why It Matters: Contrarian Bet At Support

The positioning split suggests divergent market views. Smart money wallets remain flat while standard whale wallets reduced exposure.

Only mega whales are adding, and they appear to be betting that the $301 neckline holds or that downside becomes overextended. On the downside, losing $350 increases pressure toward $316, while a daily close below $301 would activate the full bearish structure with risk extending toward $288.

The bearish case weakens if Zcash reclaims $405. A move above $456 would further stabilize the structure, while reclaiming $558 would invalidate the pattern entirely.

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