Has Zcash’s downtrend ended? ZEC rebounds after Ironwood proposal

Zcash has climbed nearly 50% from last week's low after developers moved to contain a critical vulnerability and proposed a network upgrade designed to let users independently verify the cryptocurrency's circulating supply.

According to data from CoinGecko, ZEC rebounded from roughly $303 on June 5 to around $445 by June 9, recovering a significant portion of the losses that followed the disclosure of a flaw in the network's Orchard shielded pool.

Although the token remains below the highs recorded earlier this month, improving sentiment has accompanied a series of technical and development-related updates that have prompted traders to reassess whether the recent selloff represented a temporary shock rather than the beginning of a prolonged decline.

The current optimism stems from a proposal from Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox, who introduced the planned Ironwood upgrade days after Shielded Labs disclosed a vulnerability that could theoretically have allowed an attacker to create unlimited counterfeit ZEC.

Since Orchard supports Zcash's main private transaction feature, the vulnerability quickly became a concern for users and investors. 

The uncertainty weighed heavily on investor confidence.

CoinGecko data showed Zcash's market capitalization falling from about $10.5 billion (approx. AED 38.5 billion) to nearly $5 billion (approx. AED 18.4 billion) after the vulnerability became public before recovering toward $7.5 billion (approx. AED 27.5 billion) as emergency fixes and the Ironwood proposal were introduced.

In a recent X post, Wilcox said Ironwood would give users the ability to verify the circulating supply by aggregating balances across active pools after activation. 

He added that the proposal includes a new location for holding shielded ZEC, transaction restrictions designed to isolate potentially counterfeit coins, and additional security measures such as AI-assisted code audits.

Confidence in the network's recovery has also been supported by ongoing development efforts involving the Zcash Foundation, Tachyon Group, Valar Group, and the Zcash Open Development Lab, according to Wilcox. 

He noted that the timeline for Ironwood remains uncertain and will depend on future development work and community discussions.

ZEC price analysis

While the vulnerability disclosure triggered one of Zcash's sharpest selloffs this year, recent price action suggests selling pressure has eased considerably.

The daily chart shows ZEC falling from the $650 to $700 region before finding support near $303 on June 5. 

ZEC/USD 1-day price chart. Source: TradingView.

A long lower wick formed around the low, indicating strong demand emerged as prices approached that area.

Since then, buyers have pushed the token back toward $450, allowing ZEC to recover roughly half of the decline recorded during the panic selloff.

Even with that rebound, technical indicators show that the market has not yet fully regained bullish control.

The token is currently trading near its session volume-weighted average price around $449, a level that often serves as a short-term gauge of market balance between buyers and sellers.

Several resistance levels remain overhead. The 50-day exponential moving average sits near $485, while the 20-day EMA is positioned around $506.

Together, those indicators create a resistance zone that ZEC has yet to reclaim.

A successful move above that range would strengthen the case that the recent downtrend has ended and could bring the $550 to $600 area back into focus.

Support conditions have improved, however. ZEC has recovered above its 100-day EMA near $430 after briefly losing the level during last week's selloff. 

Holding above that moving average would indicate that buyers continue to defend the recovery.

Further below, the 200-day EMA remains near $370 and continues to trend upward.

As long as the price remains above that longer-term average, the broader structure established since April remains intact despite the recent volatility.

For now, the combination of emergency network fixes, the proposed Ironwood upgrade, and a recovery from the June 5 low has improved sentiment around Zcash. 

Whether the downtrend has fully reversed may depend on the token's ability to reclaim resistance near $500 while maintaining support above the 100-day EMA in the sessions ahead.