Zcash (ZEC) experienced a dramatic drop in activity, directly impacting its price and reaching multi-month lows. Trading activity plummeted by 70%, including a 97% decrease in outflows from exchanges.
The Zcash sell-off gained momentum after the Electric Coin Company’s development team resigned in early January, a governance shock that coincided with a roughly 40% monthly price drop in early February and a further slowdown in speculative interest in privacy-focused assets.
Reports attributed the mass resignation at Electric Coin Company (ECC) to disputes over funding and control of the company’s future, creating what analysts described as a leadership vacuum that undermined investor confidence. That departure was followed by substantial transfers of ZEC to exchanges and withdrawals from protected pools in early January, suggesting panic selling rather than constructive reallocation.
Macroeconomic and regulatory factors further exacerbated Zcash’s weakness. In late January, the market’s rotation away from niche tokens and the negative reaction to macro data significantly reduced speculative demand.
How low can Zcash fall with these market movements?
From a technical perspective, selling pressure intensified after the break of key levels. ZEC broke through relevant support zones, including the area near $310 and the 200-period exponential moving average, triggering automated selling and increasing the risk of cascading liquidations.
By February 3, the token was trading around $278, with analysts warning that a sustained break below the $280 level could open a move towards the $250–$270 range, and even enable more bearish scenarios towards $200.
Market indicators reinforced this interpretation of structural weakness. ZEC outflows from exchanges plummeted by nearly 97% between December 1st and 2nd, while spot volume fell by around 12% and derivatives volume by nearly 20% by early February 2026.
Adding to this context was the resignation of the Electric Coin Company’s (ECC) development team in early January, an event that introduced immediate uncertainty regarding the project’s governance and direction.
While on-chain data showed some accumulation by large holders at depressed prices, these flows were insufficient to counteract the widespread selling pressure and token inflows to exchanges. Taken together, the combination of a technical breakdown, deteriorating liquidity, and governance concerns suggests a scenario of high volatility in the short term.
