ZEC +5.96% on Whale Activity and Position Rebalancing

On November 9, 2025, ZEC surged 5.96% in 24 hours to $631.83, marking a 44.09% rise over the past seven days, 57.33% in a month, and an extraordinary 1031.31% increase in a year. This sharp rally coincides with notable movements in large whale positions, signaling potential shifts in market sentiment and speculative activity.

Significant on-chain activity was observed as a major whale closed a long position initiated at $509.5 with 20,800 ZEC (worth approximately $12.12 million at the time), realizing a profit of $1.25 million. The position was closed as ZEC traded at $585, reflecting a strong short-term gain. The exit from this long position coincided with a broader price increase, indicating a strategic move to lock in profits as the market momentum continued to build.

Another prominent whale, identified by the address "0x089f," has recently opened a large long position in ZEC, depositing 3.54 million USDC into Hyperliquid. The whale set a limit order for 7 million ZEC at $508.5, valued at $3.5 million, and has also opened a $4.5 million long position at $593.1727, leveraging 10x. This suggests a multi-pronged approach to capturing gains across different price levels. The whale’s actions highlight the growing interest in ZEC among large players, potentially amplifying its price trajectory as the position fills.

Technical indicators suggest that ZEC is currently in a bullish phase, driven in part by the accumulation and strategic positioning of large investors. The increased open interest and sustained upward momentum indicate a strong buying bias among institutional and high-net-worth participants. This dynamic is further supported by the reduced leverage of other major long positions, with one whale reducing holdings from over 50,000 ZEC to 39,500, shrinking unrealized profits from $12 million to $200,000. This deleveraging suggests a cautious approach to the current market conditions, balancing risk against potential upside.

The overall picture points to a market in flux, with whale activity playing a key role in shaping price action. While retail investors may be reacting to the broader market trend, the strategic maneuvers of large players indicate a more complex narrative. The combination of profit-taking from previous long positions and the opening of new, larger positions signals a market that remains highly speculative but increasingly coordinated in its directional bets.

Backtest Hypothesis

Given the recent volatility and positioning behavior in ZEC, a potential backtesting strategy could be built around identifying days when the price experiences a jump of at least 5%. These spikes often precede extended bullish or bearish phases and could be leveraged to measure the forward performance of positions taken immediately following the event.

To implement this strategy accurately, the correct market symbol must be used. ZEC is commonly traded under the following symbols:

• ZEC-USD (Coinbase / Kraken USD pair)
• ZECUSDT (Binance)

Each exchange may yield different liquidity levels and execution characteristics, so the choice of symbol and exchange should be guided by the data source most representative of the whale-driven price action described.

Once the data is correctly sourced, the backtest would involve identifying all days from January 1, 2022, to today when ZEC closed with a 5% or greater daily increase. Each of these instances would then be evaluated for the following performance metrics over a defined forward window (e.g., 7, 14, and 30 days). This approach could help quantify the predictive power of large price spikes, particularly in the context of whale activity and leveraged positions.