A major account on Hyperliquid has recorded an estimated $25.7 million in unrealized losses after Zcash (ZEC) surged above $1,200. On-chain analyst Ember assessed the position on September 7, following significant price action in ZEC.
Whale short faces huge loss as ZEC rallies
The wallet opened a short position of 32,760 ZEC in early July 2026 at an average entry price near $444. Since then, Zcash has rallied from roughly $400 to over $1,200, marking an increase of about 170% within two months.
At the $1,200 level, the difference between the entry price and the current market price puts the unrealized shortfall at approximately $24.8 million. Ember’s snapshot suggests ZEC was trading closer to $1,228 when the $25.7 million loss was recorded, reflecting further pain for the open position.
ZEC has climbed above $1,200, causing the largest open short on Hyperliquid to post an unrealized loss exceeding $25 million. The position, opened at $444, has been squeezed over several months as ZEC more than tripled in price.
Ember, whose on-chain research tracks large traders and whale entities, linked the wallet to Garrett Jin. However, this attribution has not been independently confirmed. No signed message or public statement from Jin is available, and the information currently relies solely on Ember’s assessment.
Contrasting outcomes in Bitcoin long
While the ZEC short position remains deep in the red, the same wallet also holds a long position in Bitcoin with a notional value around $107 million. This Bitcoin trade posted an unrealized gain of $4.42 million at the time of assessment.
The account has paid about $2.05 million in funding fees on the Bitcoin long, reducing the effective profit from the position. Combining both positions, the ZEC losses far outweigh the Bitcoin gains, and the net result at the snapshot remains negative.
These numbers do not reflect the account’s overall trading history, as the calculation excludes previous trades, deposits, or withdrawals that have been closed or moved elsewhere.
Although the Bitcoin long offsets some losses, the ZEC short has driven the wallet’s overall balance significantly into negative territory for this period.
ETF conversion and institutional demand drive ZEC price
Market observers attribute Zcash’s breakout to increased institutional interest. Grayscale recently converted its Zcash Trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) under the ticker ZCSH, which began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25.
Grayscale’s new ETF charges a 2.5% annual sponsor fee. Following the ETF launch, ZEC hovered around $855 before climbing above $1,000, with reported exchange volumes exceeding $1.2 billion in a single day.
This surge in demand, driven by spot buying, derivatives trading, and short covering, has propelled ZEC into the top market cap ranks. However, no one factor has been confirmed as the sole reason for the rally.
The whale’s ZEC short is still open, with no liquidation price available from Ember’s data. As long as ZEC maintains or increases its value, the notional loss and required collateral for the position will grow. A reversal in the ZEC price would reduce these losses and could push part of the position back towards profitability.
Given the impact of rapid price changes and major news such as ETF launches, traders are paying close attention to collateral levels, ZCSH ETF flows, and open interest in ZEC derivatives. In a market where a single Fed decision or an unexpected altcoin listing can transform conditions within seconds, switching between multiple applications for charting, news, and portfolio data often costs investors money. Smart traders increasingly use privacy-first solutions like CryptoAppsy to streamline everything in one interface, offering real-time charts, smart alerts, coin-specific news, and macro insights without requiring any registration.
As ZEC’s trajectory draws market-wide attention, analysts continue monitoring the whale’s positions and related market signals for the next potential move.
