Spot demand lifts Zcash toward $500 — So what’s stopping ZEC’s rally?

Zcash [ZEC] has drawn renewed attention over the past day as interest in the privacy token builds again. The asset fell sharply during the broader market turmoil, dropping to a low near $250 on the 5th of June as concerns mounted over a critical bug in its Orchard shielded pool. This could have allowed unlimited counterfeit ZEC to be minted. But price has since rebounded, climbing as high as $470 in the early hours of the day. Spot demand returns to support ZEC One major driver of the recovery in ZEC's price is a surge in Spot demand recorded between the 8th of May to press time. On a netflow basis, ZEC recorded net selling of $17.23 million three days ago, set against total sales of roughly $284 million that day. Sentiment has since shifted, however, and over the past day netflow turned to net buying of $118.13 million, with a further $5.7 million in net buys continuing to back buyers. The 9th of June has also recorded net buying, though the figure remains minimal and incomplete for the session, with total buys of $99,000 in the eight hours since the trading day began. Sustained Spot buying that outpaces selling pressure would give ZEC room to extend its gains, particularly while the broader market recovery remains underway. After the heavy exit of capital between the 1st and the 6th of June, roughly $84.02 billion has flowed back into the market. ZEC hashrate climbs as miners commit more power Zcash's mining hashrate has surged over the past 24 hours, climbing 10.6% to an estimated solution rate of 17.80 GSol/s — though that remains slightly below the previous day's high of 19.68 GSol/s. A rising hashrate often signals that miners are committing more resources to strengthening their computational power. This does not necessarily point to a bullish outcome, however, and its direction depends on interpretation. Price action suggests retail investors have read it as a bullish development, and community sentiment has climbed notably in recent days. Sentiment now stands at 65%, with more than 175,000 votes cast over the past day pointing to a bullish lean among investors that could continue to influence price. Negative Funding Rate keeps downside risk in play The funding rate still points to downside risk and the potential for ZEC to decline. At the time of writing, the Funding Rate has flipped negative, with a reading of about -0.0700%. A negative Funding Rate shows that traders in the ZEC perpetual futures market favor shorts over longs. That could weigh on ZEC's building bullish momentum and dampen its overall price outlook. Should buyer dominance expand, however, ZEC could reach $500. Final Summary Buyers have moved back into ZEC over the past day, helping lift the price as high as $470 after it bottomed near $250 on the 5th of June. Despite the rebound, Futures traders are still leaning toward bets that ZEC will fall, which keeps some downside risk in play even as buyers push toward $500.