Zcash, Monero Rally as Networks Hold; Smart Money Stays Short

Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) each climbed about 7% on Monday as on-chain activity stabilized. The privacy-coin group remains down roughly 12% for the month. Analytics show smart-money wallets are net short about $9.6 million on ZEC and about $1 million on XMR. Zcash exchange inflows totaled about $42.5 million over seven days, roughly 3.3 times the average weekly rate.

Zcash and Monero losses followed separate confidence shocks earlier in June. Zcash’s decline began after a bug tied to its shielded pool reduced positive sentiment. Monero’s sentiment dropped after the coin was placed in an audit queue. Zcash developers have finalized an Ironwood upgrade plan targeting activation in late July 2026. The update includes a repaired Orchard shielded pool that would allow node operators to verify total circulating ZEC by summing balances across pools and to enforce the turnstile supply bound.

On-chain metrics diverged from price moves. Dash active addresses fell from a late-May peak near 66,000 to about 34,000, and daily transactions cooled from about 18,400 to 13,000, while 30-day exchange volume rose to a cumulative near $2.96 billion with recent single-day peaks around $210 million. Monero’s daily transactions rose from roughly 23,900 on June 7 to about 28,600 at a recent high, and its mining hash rate has held near 5.9 GH/s after only a shallow dip. Decred’s price dropped about 54% over 90 days while transactions fell about 12% in the same period.

Wallet positioning data show differing views. Zcash whale long positions entered below $410 and now record unrealized gains in a range of about 15% to 37%, with combined paper profits above $8.5 million. Major Monero whale longs entered between about $337 and $407 and remain mostly underwater but have not been liquidated. Smart-money wallets, defined by consistent trading records, are net short on both ZEC and XMR to the dollar amounts noted above.

Exchange flows and wallet positions are active variables to watch. The seven-day Zcash inflow spike and the net-short stance of smart-money wallets are recorded facts. Zcash’s planned protocol change is scheduled for late July 2026 and is designed to alter how node operators verify supply.

A comparison with Cardano highlights differences in usage trends. Cardano’s active-address index sits near 91 and is below its baseline, reflecting reduced on-chain engagement. Zcash’s active-address index was near 342 and while below its baseline, it remained higher than Cardano’s reading.

Future price movement will relate to changes in on-chain activity, exchange flows and large-wallet positions. Market observers cite the metrics above as the primary data points that could influence whether the recent price gains persist.