Zcash (ZEC) — the supply-capped, privacy-first layer-1 coin — has staged a remarkable rebound after Friday’s market bloodbath. The coin hit a weekend peak of roughly $291 on Saturday before cooling to around $273, fully retracing its crash and setting a new short-term high.
On Friday, ZEC had cratered 45%, nosediving from $273 to $150, after U.S. President Donald Trump torpedoed global markets with a single social media post announcing 100% tariffs on China. The move triggered what traders are calling one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history, with $20 billion in positions wiped out within hours.
Trump’s post that crashed global markets, source: Trump
Despite that carnage, ZEC is now only 5.5% below its weekend high — a rare green shoot in an otherwise scorched landscape. Most other major cryptos remain deep in the red: Ether (ETH), for instance, is still down roughly 22% from its all-time high of $4,957.
Zcash was one of the only assets in the green today, source: BNC
Zcash’s resilience stands out. Before the downturn, the token went on a parabolic run — climbing from $74 on October 1 to $291 just two weeks later — nearly a 4x move that put it back to pre-crash levels and into the spotlight for traders chasing momentum plays.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market is still reeling from Trump’s tariff salvo. His Friday posts reignited fears of a renewed U.S.–China trade war, instantly wiping trillions off global markets — echoing the chaos seen during the tariff battles of 2019.
In his first post, Trump lashed out at Beijing’s expanded export controls on rare earth minerals — the critical materials used in everything from EV batteries to missile guidance systems — calling the move “very hostile” and warning it would “clog global trade.” Over 90% of these materials are produced in China, according to Reuters.
Trump then canceled an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, writing, “I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so.” Hours later, he followed up by declaring a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, effective November 1, 2025 (or sooner).
That was enough to send markets spiraling — but not Zcash. The privacy coin, built to make transactions invisible to prying eyes, once again proved its knack for surviving chaos in style.
