- Garret Jin accumulated 202,080 ZEC worth approximately $88.3 million in December 2024; holdings now valued near $320 million as ZEC trades at $1,580.
- The investor moved the full stack into Zcash shielded addresses before returning funds to transparent addresses within minutes, keeping all 202,080 ZEC under single-wallet control.
- A concurrent short position of roughly 38,000 ZEC on Hyperliquid (current notional ~$60 million) carries a $34.5 million unrealized loss, functioning as a partial hedge against the much larger spot exposure.
Whale Accumulation: December 2024 Withdrawals from Binance and Zcash
Blockchain data and a screenshot shared by Garret Jin on X reveal a coordinated accumulation of Zcash ($ZEC) in late December 2024. On December 24, a wallet linked to Jin withdrew 68,080 ZEC from Binance when the asset traded near $436, valuing that tranche at roughly $29.7 million. Minutes earlier, the same wallet pulled 134,000 ZEC directly from the Zcash network, worth approximately $58.6 million at prevailing prices. Combined, the two transactions delivered 202,080 ZEC into a single address with a total cost basis near $88.3 million.
Shielded Address Activity and Rapid Return to Transparency
On-chain records show Jin subsequently moved the entire 202,080 ZEC balance into Zcash shielded addresses, leveraging the protocol’s zero-knowledge privacy feature. However, the assets were transferred back to transparent addresses within minutes, and the full position has remained in that wallet continuously since. The brief shielding event did not obscure the ultimate ownership or aggregate size of the holding, which remains publicly verifiable on transparent addresses.
Price Surge Lifts Paper Gain to $232 Million
With ZEC appreciation to $1,580, the spot position has swelled to an estimated $320 million in current market value. That translates to an unrealized dollar-denominated gain of approximately $232 million against the December acquisition cost. The magnitude of the appreciation underscores the volatile upside potential in privacy-focused crypto assets during broader market rallies.
Hyperliquid Short Position Acts as Partial Hedge
Simultaneously, Jin maintains a short position of roughly 38,000 ZEC on the decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid. At current prices, the short carries a notional value near $60 million and an unrealized loss of about $34.5 million. Analysts interpret the short as a deliberate hedge: should ZEC decline, profits on the perpetual contract would offset a portion of the spot drawdown, while the net exposure remains strongly long given the 202,080 ZEC spot holding versus the 38,000 ZEC short.
Why This Matters
The episode highlights how sophisticated participants manage concentrated positions in lower-liquidity privacy coins. Zcash’s dual address architecture—transparent and shielded—allows large holders to test privacy features without relinquishing auditability, a dynamic relevant for regulators and compliance teams monitoring anti-money-laundering (AML) risks. Meanwhile, the use of Hyperliquid for on-chain perpetual hedging demonstrates the growing role of decentralized derivatives venues in institutional-scale risk management. Market observers should watch whether the short position is adjusted, expanded, or closed as ZEC price action evolves, as changes could signal shifting conviction or risk appetite from one of the asset’s largest identifiable holders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Garret Jin?
Garret Jin is a pseudonymous cryptocurrency investor who publicly shares on-chain activity via his X (formerly Twitter) account. He is known for sizable positions in privacy-focused assets and for utilizing decentralized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid for hedging.
Why did the ZEC move to shielded addresses and then back so quickly?
The brief transfer to Zcash shielded addresses likely served as a functional test of the network’s privacy features or a tactical step for transaction privacy. Returning to transparent addresses within minutes kept the full balance visible on-chain, preserving verifiability of the total holding size.
How does the Hyperliquid short position hedge the spot holding?
The short position of ~38,000 ZEC represents roughly 19% of the 202,080 ZEC spot stack. If ZEC falls, gains on the short partially compensate for losses on the much larger long position, reducing net downside exposure while maintaining a predominantly bullish directional bet.
