ZCash pokes $400 again — bulls hoping this isn't another plot twist 🎭

ZCash [ZEC] reclaimed the $400 level with a 5.28% gain over 24 hours as the broader crypto market opened July on an upbeat note, though derivatives data signaled limited conviction behind the move. Bitcoin [BTC] has climbed 6.26% from the $57,800 low recorded on July 1, while the altcoin market cap, including Ethereum, expanded by 4.05%.

Analyst Axel Adler Jr. wrote on X that Bitcoin Open Interest fell by 23k BTC even as net taker buy volume reached $68 million, a combination he characterized as a lack of fuel to sustain the upward move. The same caution appeared in ZEC's derivatives: open interest grew by just 1.33%, suggesting minimal speculative appetite despite the spot price gain. Separately, AMBCrypto reported that a ZEC whale opened an $8.1 million long position, though the token's price structure remained bearish on its assessment.

The 1-day chart illustrates why technical observers remain cautious. The $486.61 low set in mid-May broke below the local range's floor, and buyers have twice failed to defend demand zones above $400 in the weeks since. At the time of writing, the Chaikin Money Flow sat at +0.08, indicating significant buying pressure on the latest rebound, but the recovery from $176 earlier this year sits beneath a dense $480–$540 supply zone that ZEC has yet to retest.

For a sustained uptrend to take shape, ZEC would need to break and hold above that $480–$540 resistance band. Conversely, another slide below the $360–$380 local support zone would open the path toward the next support level near $300, a level identified as the next downside reference point if selling pressure returns.