ZEC Strengthens After Shorts Liquidated, What Are the Supporting Factors?

More than IDR 600 billion vanished from a single trading account in just a matter of hours. That is what happened to Garrett Jin, former CEO of the BitForex exchange who made headlines after booking hundreds of millions of dollars in profit from shorting Bitcoin right before Trump announced 100% tariffs on China in October 2025. 

This time his luck reversed: on September 21, 2026, Jin was forced to close 38,000 ZEC short positions via market orders within 1.5 hours, losing about $35 million. This forced closure immediately pushed ZEC up 2.7% to $1,530. 

Today's ZEC price movement, triggered by this ZEC short liquidation of this size, is a real example of how the action of a single whale can move the privacy coin market within minutes.

Key Takeaways

• Garrett Jin, the whale widely known after profiting big from shorting Bitcoin before Trump's October 2025 tariffs, closed 38,000 ZEC short positions within 1.5 hours on September 21, 2026, losing about $35 million.
• This short closure pushed ZEC price up 2.7% from $1,490 to $1,530, while the ZEC funding rate on Hyperliquid briefly spiked above 170% annualized.
• This rise occurred amid the larger Zcash ZEC trend throughout 2026, with the token briefly hitting an 8-year high driven by Grayscale's privacy coin ETF filing.

Chronology of ZEC Short Liquidation by Garrett Jin

Based on reporting by KuCoin citing a Huo Xing Finance report, Garrett Jin closed all 38,000 ZEC short positions via market orders within a 1.5-hour window on September 21, 2026. This action immediately pushed ZEC price up from $1,490 to $1,530—a rise of about 2.7% in a short time.

The impact did not stop there. The ZEC funding rate on the Hyperliquid perpetual exchange briefly spiked sharply above 170% annualized, indicating strong sudden buying pressure in the derivatives market once such a large short position was forcibly closed.

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This short position itself had been held by Jin for about three months. He previously described the position as "partially hedged," but its closure still booked a loss of about $35 million. One important detail: Jin did not sell the spot ZEC assets he held during this period, so additional selling pressure on the spot market could be avoided.

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Who Is Garrett Jin? The Controversial Whale Behind This Movement

The name Garrett Jin is not unfamiliar among crypto traders. He is the former CEO of the now-defunct BitForex exchange, and his name skyrocketed since October 2025 after a wallet associated with him opened a Bitcoin short position worth hundreds of millions of dollars just minutes before US President Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on China.

Decrypt reported the trade raked in profits approaching $150-200 million, triggering insider trading accusations from some in the crypto community. Cointelegraph noted Jin denied the accusations, stating he had no connection to the Trump family and that the wallet contained client funds, not his personal funds.

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Since then, every major move from wallets associated with Jin has been closely monitored by the crypto community—including a history of big swings such as turning from a $70 million paper profit into a $128 million loss due to a high-leverage position in Ethereum in May 2026. 

This volatile track record is what made this ZEC short liquidation an immediate highlight, rather than just an ordinary transaction.

Zcash ZEC Trend September 2026: Why Is This Privacy Coin in the Spotlight?

Jin's short liquidation occurred amid the major momentum ZEC has experienced throughout 2026. CoinMarketCap noted ZEC briefly hit an 8-year high above $855, driven by Grayscale's filing to convert the Zcash Trust into a spot privacy coin ETF product and a surge in activity in the futures market.

At the time this article was written, the latest ZEC price was around $1.490, placing it at rank #9 by market capitalization with a value of about $24.38 billion and 24-hour trading volume reaching $1.21 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. Of the total maximum supply of 21 million ZEC, about 16.88 million are already circulating in the market.

The momentum of privacy coins like ZEC is in line with growing institutional interest in zero-knowledge proof technology and the need for on-chain transaction privacy—a topic that continues to be discussed as more financial institutions explore products based on this crypto asset.

Read Also: Popular Tokenized Stocks 2026: Technology Stocks Become Investor Favorites

Conclusion

The liquidation of 38,000 ZEC short positions by Garrett Jin on September 21, 2026 shows how the action of one controversial whale can directly move ZEC price up 2.7% and trigger a spike in the funding rate in the derivatives market. 

Jin's track record, full of highlights since the Bitcoin short case before Trump's October 2025 tariffs, keeps every move he makes a topic of discussion in the crypto community. 

Today's ZEC price rise is also inseparable from the larger privacy coin momentum throughout 2026, marked by the 8-year high ZEC briefly reached thanks to Grayscale's ETF filing. Going forward, ZEC price direction will continue to be influenced by a combination of short-term whale trading sentiment and the long-term trend of privacy coin adoption.

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FAQ

Why did ZEC price rise on September 21, 2026? 

ZEC price rose 2.7% from $1,490 to $1,530 after whale Garrett Jin closed 38,000 short positions via market orders within 1.5 hours. The forced closure of a position this size triggered sudden buying pressure in the derivatives market.

Who is Garrett Jin mentioned in this ZEC short liquidation news? 

Garrett Jin is the former CEO of the BitForex exchange, widely known since October 2025 after a wallet associated with him made huge profits from shorting Bitcoin just before Trump's tariff announcement on China. He denied insider trading accusations related to that trade.

How much did Garrett Jin lose from closing this ZEC short? 

The closure of these 38,000 ZEC short positions booked a loss of about $35 million for Jin. He did not sell the spot ZEC assets he held during the period the short was active.

What is ZEC price today and its position in the crypto market? 

The latest ZEC price is around $1,444, ranking #9 by market capitalization at about $24.38 billion. This figure can change quickly following the volatile dynamics of the crypto market.

What is driving the Zcash ZEC upward trend throughout 2026? 

ZEC momentum was driven by Grayscale's filing to convert the Zcash Trust into a spot privacy coin ETF, which briefly brought ZEC to an 8-year high above $855. Institutional interest in zero-knowledge proof-based transaction privacy technology also supports this trend.