Share this post Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Zcash runs 17% as a $345 million liquidation wave follows the Fed hike Zcash rose more than 17% to nearly $1,358 as of Asian morning hours Thursday, far ahead of every other major, according to CoinDesk data.
Solana and hyperliquid each added about 3%, with BNB, dogecoin and ether up roughly 2%. Bitcoin climbed 1% to just above $76,400, XRP the same, and tron was flat.
The Fed raised its target range by a quarter point to 375 to 400 basis points on Wednesday, its first hike of the cycle after markets had priced the move at roughly 69% going in. Bitcoin barely moved on the decision. Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said in an email that bitcoin had already "overreacted negatively" to the CLARITY Act failing in the Senate this week, leaving it less exposed to a stronger dollar.
Some 86,816 traders were liquidated over 24 hours for a combined $345 million, per CoinGlass. Liquidation is when an exchange force-closes a leveraged position because the trader's collateral no longer covers the loss. Shorts made up $208 million of that against $137 million of longs, so most of the pain landed on traders betting prices would fall.
Ether led at nearly $89 million, bitcoin at $85 million and zcash at $56 million. The largest single order was an $18 million bitcoin position closed on Hyperliquid.
Zcash produced $56 million of liquidations on a market capitalization of $23 billion. Watch whether that leverage rebuilds through Thursday, because it has fuelled every leg of this run.