Zcash Jumped 8% After Its ETFs Took In Money for the First Time Since September. Is the Selling Over?
Zcash spot ETFs broke a three-week outflow streak just as ZEC surged off a critical support level, but the leverage and social data behind the September rally tell a more complicated story about who is actually buying.
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Spot Zcash ETF funds, which invest directly in Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC), saw a $3.68 million inflow on October 14, 2026, marking the first daily inflow since September 22. Spot ETFs let investors buy Zcash through a regular brokerage account. However, this single day of buying wasn’t enough to turn the tide for the week, as the funds needed strong performances on October 15 and 16 to avoid a third straight week of outflows.
On October 15, Zcash jumped 8.0% in 24 hours. That gain had cooled to 6.5% by the evening, with ZEC trading at $1,231.
But does this first ETF inflow in three weeks signal the end of the selling trend?
Zcash Bounced From $1,077 to $1,231 After the ETF Inflow
ZEC rebounded from a 24-hour low of $1,077 to $1,231 on October 15, posting an 8.0% gain over the past week. This recovery followed ETF inflows and offered a glimmer of hope for holders after weeks of muted activity.
Despite this positive movement, ZEC remains 61.4% below its all-time high set in October 2016. The coin faced significant pullbacks in early October, giving back much of its September gains, so one strong day of trading cannot erase those losses.
Zcash Leverage and Social Buzz Peaked Before Its Price Did
According to data from Santiment, a crypto analytics firm, ZEC’s roughly 48% rise from September 15 to September 26 lost momentum even before it peaked. Open interest, which tracks the number of active futures contracts and the borrowed funds tied to the price, peaked at 1.6 million ZEC on September 17.
Social media mentions of ZEC also peaked a day later, with 671 mentions on September 18. The coin’s daily closing price didn’t reach its highest point until September 26, when it hit $1,650. This final leg of the rally occurred amid reduced leverage and social activity, suggesting fewer new buyers were entering the market.
After peaking, ZEC fell about 30%, closing at $1,145 on October 14. At that point, open interest had fallen 2.5% from September 15, and social mentions dropped to 50—its quietest day since September 2.
Lower leverage reduces the risk of liquidations, where exchanges can forcibly close losing positions and push the price even lower. However, it also suggests the enthusiastic crowd that drove the September rally hasn’t returned, implying the recent ETF inflow came in a relatively quiet market.
Zcash’s NU7 Upgrade Faces a Developer Review on October 20
Zcash’s next network upgrade, called NU7, is scheduled for review on October 20. This upgrade will reduce the block time—the time between successful transaction confirmations—from 75 seconds to just 25 seconds. The testnet version went live on October 4, and the developers have indicated they expect to set a timeline for the mainnet, or live network, around November 5.
So far, the only indication of how the market is responding to NU7 has been its testnet launch. ZEC closed at $1,352 on October 4, then fell to $1,110 by October 8. This shows that the initial upgrade milestone did little to halt the selling trend. Although faster block times improve usability for current Zcash users, they don’t automatically create demand for the coin.
The upgrade will also phase out an older transaction format. According to the Zcash Foundation, any ZEC still held in Sprout, the original privacy pool, will become unspendable unless it is moved before the mainnet upgrade.
Will the First Zcash ETF Inflow Mark the End of Selling?
While selling may have paused for now, one day of inflows is too small a signal to declare the trend over. With both leverage and interest levels back below pre-rally standards, the risk of forced selling seems reduced. However, a single $3.68 million inflow does not clearly show new buyers re-entering the market.
To be more confident, we need to see ZEC maintain its price above the October 14 close of $1,145 through the October 20 review. Additionally, the ETFs should experience a week of consistent net inflows. Only then would a move back toward the September 26 close of $1,650 seem realistic. However, a close below $1,145 after October 20 could push ZEC down toward the $1,109 level where its September rally began.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
