Zcash drops 11% amid leverage unwinding and AI encryption concerns

Privacy cryptocurrency Zcash fell 11% over the past 24 hours to a market capitalization of $18.5 billion, making it one of the biggest losers of the day. This drop follows a recent "meteoric rise" of 460% from its March lows, leading to a build-up in leverage; $17.9 million worth of Zcash long positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours. Concerns are also rising that AI could break crypto encryption before quantum computers, a warning echoed by Vitalik Buterin and Justin Drake, prompting some to worry about the future of privacy protocols like Zcash, despite Zcash developers aiming for quantum and AI-proofing by January.