--- title: "Why did ZEC drop 1.90% in 5 minutes? Evidence check: Zcash falls sharply in five-minute move as long liquidations hit · 2026-10-23" description: "Zcash (ZEC) fell in a sharp five-minute move on Gate's ZEC/USDT market, while Bitcoin's benchmark slipped only slightly over the same window. On OKX's ZEC-USDT perpetual swap, funding was near zero, open interest stayed flat and liquidations were mostly longs and heavy. No report in the monitored…" language: en canonical: "https://whycoinmoves.com/en/events/zcash-move-1792794720" published: 2026-10-23T22:33:00.000Z updated: 2026-10-23T23:35:00.000Z indexable: true --- # Why did ZEC drop 1.90% in 5 minutes? Evidence check: Zcash falls sharply in five-minute move as long liquidations hit · 2026-10-23 Zcash (ZEC) fell in a sharp five-minute move on Gate's ZEC/USDT market, while Bitcoin's benchmark slipped only slightly over the same window. On OKX's ZEC-USDT perpetual swap, funding was near zero, open interest stayed flat and liquidations were mostly longs and heavy. No report in the monitored… Nearby report sources (context, not confirmed causes): No matching source available ## Key facts ZEC changed -1.90% in 5 minutes (23/10/2026, 22:27 to 23/10/2026, 22:32, UTC; Gate · USDT). The cause remains unresolved. On the OKX perpetual swap ZEC-USDT-SWAP around the alert: funding rate +0.0004% per 8h period; open interest +0.10% (23/10/2026, 22:25 → 23/10/2026, 22:30); liquidations at least $619,554 long / at least $48 short (UTC). These are conditions that accompanied the move, not its cause. After site detection, observed returns were 5 minutes: -0.91% (difference from BTC -0.89 pp; 23/10/2026, 22:33 → 23/10/2026, 22:38, UTC; Gate · USDT); 1 hour: -1.80% (difference from BTC -1.54 pp; 23/10/2026, 22:33 → 23/10/2026, 23:33, UTC; Gate · USDT). Unlisted windows are unavailable. ## Returns after site detection | Window | Return | BTC | Difference from BTC | Actual sampled interval (UTC) | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 5 minutes | -0.91% | -0.02% | -0.89 pp | 23/10/2026, 22:33 → 23/10/2026, 22:38 | Gate · USDT | | 1 hour | -1.80% | -0.26% | -1.54 pp | 23/10/2026, 22:33 → 23/10/2026, 23:33 | Gate · USDT | | 24 hours | — | — | — | — | — | ## Detected price interval | Metric | Value | | --- | --- | | Window | 5 min | | Sampled prices | 1221.29 → 1198.04 | | Return / BTC difference | -1.90% / -1.70 pp | | OKX perpetual funding rate (per period) | 0.0004% / 8h · OKX · ZEC-USDT-SWAP · sampled 23/10/2026, 22:34 (UTC) · Rate observed at collection; not annualized yield or a realized settlement. | | OKX perpetual open interest change | +0.10% · OKX · ZEC-USDT-SWAP · sampled 23/10/2026, 22:34 (UTC) · 23/10/2026, 22:25 → 23/10/2026, 22:30 (UTC) · OI measured in coin units, not dollar value. | | Observed long liquidations | At least $619,554 · OKX · ZEC-USDT-SWAP · sampled 23/10/2026, 22:34 (UTC) · 23/10/2026, 22:27 → 23/10/2026, 22:33 (UTC) · API coverage is incomplete; this is a lower bound, including when zero is observed. | | Observed short liquidations | At least $48 · OKX · ZEC-USDT-SWAP · sampled 23/10/2026, 22:34 (UTC) · 23/10/2026, 22:27 → 23/10/2026, 22:33 (UTC) · API coverage is incomplete; this is a lower bound, including when zero is observed. | | Detection threshold | 1.5% | | Source | Gate · USDT | [Research: announcement timing and causality]() ## Historical hourly baseline | Metric | Value | | --- | --- | | Ready | false | | Coverage | 0.0% (0/720) | | Median absolute hourly return | — | | 99th percentile of absolute hourly returns | — | | BTC beta | — | | Source / cutoff (UTC) | Gate · USDT / 23/10/2026, 22:32 | ## Claims and open questions - What specific catalyst, such as a project announcement, exchange notice or large on-chain transfer, preceded the drop? - Do broader market developments from the same period account for the move, or was it confined to Zcash? ## Source evidence ## Recent ZEC events and market reactions - [Why did ZEC drop 0.74% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Zcash falls in a one-hour move as other tracked coins are mixed · 2026-10-23]() — Received 23/10/2026, 01:48 (UTC) · Cause unresolved · Market watch · 5m -0.50% / 1h -0.50% - [Zakura proposes per-swap keys to stop future quantum computers linking Zcash swaps]() — Published 19/10/2026, 05:23 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (2 publishers) · General news · 5m +0.51% / 1h -0.39% - [Full coin archive]() ## Recent Market watch events on other coins - [IRYS: Why did IRYS drop 7.75% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Irys token falls sharply in one-minute move as other tracked coins stay flat · 2026-10-24]() - [IRYS: Why did IRYS go up 19.63% in 5 minutes? Evidence check: Irys rises sharply in a five-minute move while other tracked coins stay flat · 2026-10-24]() - [PEARL: Why did PEARL go up 2.98% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Pearl rises sharply in a one-minute move while other tracked coins stay flat · 2026-10-23]() - [Market watch]() ## Research for this archive - [Monero XMR and Zcash ZEC: delistings, liquidity and USD vs USDT]() - [Altcoin beta to Bitcoin: BTC, ETH, SOL and DOGE hourly returns]() - [Crypto liquidity and order book depth: a historical data audit]() - [Perpetual funding rates and annualized yield: a 2025 comparison]() [Methods and limitations]() Publisher count is not independent evidence count. Price changes cannot verify news or prove causation.