An unknown investor has built a position in Zcash (ZEC) worth about $14 million, splitting the capital between the spot market and the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid. The purchases came amid preparations for the Network Upgrade 7 (NU7) hard fork: on November 5, it is set to speed up block processing threefold.
Judging by on-chain data, the address t1JJnA linked to the investor first bought 3,052 ZEC (about $3.8 million) on the spot market at an average price of $1,250. Then, on Hyperliquid, it opened a 2x leveraged long on 8,000 ZEC worth $10.16 million in two different wallets.
So far, 3,000 ZEC of this position can be verified, with an average entry price of $1,353.83.
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In late October, ZEC pulled back to the $1,220–$1,280 range, and the derivatives position went into the red. At its peak, the paper loss exceeded $1.8 million; it now stands at $249,388.
But liquidation will only occur if the price falls to $647.67, which is nearly half of current levels. The investor is clearly betting on long-term growth rather than a quick rebound.
Why does the investor want Zcash right now?
The main argument is the NU7 hard fork, whose final tests the developers completed on the testnet in October. The ZIP-218 update will cut block time from 75 to 25 seconds: the network’s throughput will triple, while the issuance schedule will remain the same.
Along with the hard fork, the Network Sustainability Mechanism (a reserve fee fund for miners) will go live, and the outdated Sprout pool will be shut down in favor of the shielded Orchard architecture.
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Throughout 2026, each new Zcash low came in higher than the previous one. An ascending triangle has formed on the chart, and time after time the price runs into resistance at $1,396. Traders on the derivatives market have split into two camps.
Some expect a sharp upside breakout amid inflows into the Grayscale Zcash Trust. Others fear that right after the upgrade activates on November 5, the “buy the rumor, sell the news” principle will kick in.
