Bitcoin holds above $83K as Zcash drops 12% amid inflation fears

Bitcoin is doing what Bitcoin does best in times of uncertainty: not panicking. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap dipped roughly 1.7% to the $83,000 area on September 28, holding well above its mid-August lows near $75,000 to $77,000. Meanwhile, Zcash decided to take the elevator down, shedding approximately 12% in a single session. Oil, inflation, and the risk-off ripple Brent crude climbed above $100 per barrel, posting gains of more than 3% as geopolitical tensions involving Iran pushed energy markets higher. The Fed already hiked its target rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4% on September 16, citing resilient economic activity alongside stubbornly elevated inflation. Zcash’s correction in context Zcash had been on a historic tear, rallying more than 2,000% from earlier lows near $50 to an all-time high above $1,485 earlier in September, with some intraday prints reportedly touching near $1,680. On the fundamental side, Paradigm made a significant disclosure positioning ZEC as a “private complement” to Bitcoin. Grayscale launched a spot Zcash ETF, giving institutional investors a regulated on-ramp to the privacy coin for the first time. When ZEC began to fal...