ETH falls to 13-month low on Zcash bug news and Bitcoin drop to sub-$60K: Is $1.4K next?
Ether fell to a 13-month low as Bitcoin slipped under $60,000 and a Zcash bug intensified risk aversion across crypto.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
ETH slid to about $1,540 after a broad market selloff, worsening derivatives signals, and fears that a Zcash vulnerability could signal wider smart-contract risk. The article says heavy liquidations, falling DeFi deposits, and recent hacks have left traders leaning bearish.
ETH is like a popular playground game that many kids are suddenly trying to leave. Prices fell, lots of borrowed bets got forced out, and a bug in another crypto project made people nervous that other games might have hidden problems too.
Analysis
ETH dropped to a 13-month low near $1,540 as the wider crypto market weakened and Bitcoin fell below $60,000. The piece links the move to a mix of macro market stress and a fresh security scare after a critical bug was found in the Zcash blockchain.
Derivatives are leaning bearish
The article says Ether perpetual futures funding turned negative, which points to stronger demand for short exposure. It also notes a surge in downside protection: the Deribit ETH put-to-call premium rose sharply, showing traders were paying more for puts than calls. That fits with the liquidation data cited in the story, which says $1.28 billion in leveraged ETH longs were wiped out over five days and more than $500 million was liquidated in 48 hours.
DeFi weakness and security fears
The story also connects ETH weakness to falling Total Value Locked on Ethereum, which dropped to its lowest level since February 2024. Several major DApps saw large TVL declines, including Spark, Ether.fi, EigenCloud, and KernelDAO. Lower deposits can reduce activity and revenue in the ecosystem, which in turn can weaken demand for ETH in smart contracts.
The Zcash bug added another layer of caution. According to the article, the flaw allowed unlimited ZEC minting in the largest Zcash zero-knowledge pool and had existed since 2022 before being found with the help of an Anthropic AI model. That discovery made traders more nervous about hidden bugs in other chains and DeFi protocols, especially after April hacks totaled $630 million across 25 protocols.
Bottom line
The article frames ETH as under pressure from both market structure and trust issues. It also notes that only 30% of ETH supply is currently profitable, a condition that has appeared during past deep selloffs before major rebounds, though the article does not claim a rebound is guaranteed.
Key points
- ETH fell to around $1,540, its lowest level in 13 months, while Bitcoin slipped under $60,000.
- ETH derivatives turned bearish, with negative funding and stronger demand for put protection.
- More than $1.28 billion in leveraged ETH longs were liquidated over five days.
- Ethereum TVL fell to its lowest level since February 2024, with several major DApps posting sharp declines.
- A critical Zcash bug and recent multi-chain hacks added to fear across DeFi and smart contracts.
The article notes that only 30% of ETH supply is in profit, a setup that has appeared during prior deep selloffs before strong rebounds. If selling pressure eases and confidence returns, the market could stabilize above the recent low and recover some of the liquidated ground.
The story points to continued bearish derivatives positioning, heavy liquidations, and falling DeFi deposits, all of which can keep pressure on ETH. If security fears spread beyond Zcash and traders keep reducing risk, ETH could slide further below $1,550 and test lower levels.
