“The pressure is definitely mounting,” said one trader as Zcash edged closer to the key $500 support level. The token has slipped notably after dropping below $520, triggering over $2 million in liquidations of long positions within a single day. The breakdown on the 4-hour chart and the looming Ironwood upgrade have left investors cautious, undermining sentiment in the market.
ZEC hovered near $502 on July 24, reflecting a 5.5% weekly decline. Once it lost the $520 mark, selling intensified, pressing the price through intermediate support at $510 and attracting automated stop-loss triggers. The token's daily chart shows it falling beneath the 20-day simple moving average at $514.77, though it still holds above the 50-day and 100-day moving averages at $477.05 and $466.50, respectively. These averages could act as immediate support if the $500 level fails.
Outside the crypto sphere, broader risk aversion played a major role in Zcash's slide. The tech sector took a hit as the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks dropped nearly $800 billion in value following weaker-than-expected earnings and concerns over AI spending, with Tesla plunging 14% and Alphabet down nearly 7%. also geopolitical tensions pushed Brent crude briefly over $100 due to tanker attacks near the Red Sea, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to an 18-month peak around 4.70%, making speculative assets less appealing. Institutional investors echoed this caution, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing $225 million in outflows on July 23 alone, led by BlackRock’s IBIT fund. This defensive mood seeped into altcoins like ZEC.
The technical outlook grows more bearish on shorter timeframes. A rounded-top pattern has formed since mid-July, testing the critical $500 support zone. A confirmed breakdown below this level might drive ZEC toward $470, before potentially dropping further to the rounded-top target near $371. This scenario would threaten the medium- and long-term recovery unless price firmly rebounds above $530, which remains the key level to neutralize the current downtrend. Traders eyeing Zcash should watch for a daily close below $477, which could open the way for deeper losses.
