Zcash Price Forecast: ZODL founder now backs ending community grants as ZEC recovers

• Above $1,250 on Monday, Zcash edges up from a rising support trendline following two successive days of declines.
• Ending the block reward allocation to Zcash Community Grants wins backing from ZODL founder Josh Swihart.
• Friday’s ZEC ETF outflow exceeded $4 million, bringing net inflows for the week down to around $18 million.

The 8% block reward allocation to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) would end under a compromise proposal now backed by Josh Swihart, founder of the Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL). Against this backdrop, Zcash (ZEC) extends its recovery above $1,250 on Monday. A second week of Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) inflows, totalling roughly $18 million, and futures Open Interest approaching 2 million ZEC point to a return of risk appetite among institutional and retail investors.

Technical signals favour further near-term gains in Zcash towards horizontal resistance at $1,385, a barrier that has held since 6 October.

Zcash NU7 Upgrade and Compromise Proposal Take Centre Stage

With Network Upgrade 7 scheduled for 5 November, developments within the Zcash ecosystem could command attention this week. Alongside disabling the Sprout pool and its transactions, the upgrade will shorten block intervals from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, improving transaction confirmation times. 

In a post on X on Monday, ZODL founder Josh Swihart said he now backs the compromise proposal from Zcash co-founders Sean Bowe and Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn. It would remove Zcash Community Grants’ 8% share of block rewards and channel the funds into a "Future Dev and Legal Defense Fund" lockbox. Under the proposal, ZCG would be pushed to donate 50,000 ZEC to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, with existing treasury funds continuing to finance ongoing grants.

Zcash Buying Interest Returns

Buying interest in the Zcash ETF has returned over the past two weeks, with last week’s inflows of $17.72 million followed by $41.09 million. Before this run, the fund recorded three consecutive weeks of outflows after the 3-for-1 stock split on 28 September. The reversal implies that selling pressure driven by higher volumes has eased. Renewed inflows also coincide with the forthcoming NU7 upgrade on 5 November and a possible change to network grants.

Among retail investors, Zcash Open Interest (OI) reached 1.99 million ZEC on Monday, compared with 1.96 million ZEC on Sunday, according to CoinGlass data. OI had fallen from 2.18 million ZEC on Tuesday to 1.94 million ZEC on Saturday. Its subsequent recovery points to a gradual rebuilding of positions, reinforcing signs of returning risk appetite.

Technical Outlook: Zcash Recovery Targets the $1,385 Barrier

At $1,257 on Monday, Zcash is staging a modest recovery. The privacy coin retains a bullish near-term bias as a rising trendline underpins the advance on the four-hour chart. That line connects the lows of 18 and 30 October near $1,215.

On the same chart, buyers appear to be defending important pivot areas, with Zcash having regained both the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1,250 and the 200-period EMA at $1,240.

Four-hour momentum is moving from bearish towards neutral. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 50 as it rises towards the neutral midline, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains flat beneath its signal and zero lines, with shrinking histogram bars. Together, these signals suggest that price dips are attracting support rather than aggressive selling.

The first resistance on the upside is the 6 October high of $1,385. A sustained break above it would open the way for a longer rally. Using the Fibonacci retracement from $1,385 to the 18 October low of $1,049, the 127.2% and 161.8% extensions, around $1,493 and $1,644 respectively, could provide the next significant resistance levels.

Initial downside support lies at the 50- and 200-period EMAs, at $1,250 and $1,240 respectively, which form a broader demand zone beneath the price. Should the pullback deepen, structural support would likely emerge near the 50% retracement at $1,205 and the ascending trendline around $1,215. Buyers could seek to restore the prevailing uptrend in this area.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)