ZEC Vs. UNI: Why Zcash, Uniswap Are Outpacing Bitcoin, Major Altcoins Today

Uniswap (UNI) and Zcash (ZEC) were the top two performers among the top altcoins by market cap in early trading on Wednesday. UNI was up 18.1% in 24 hours while ZEC was up 8.4%. Both tokens outpaced Bitcoin (BTC), which remained flat over the past day.

The two rallies are driven by different factors. UNI is benefiting from growth in Robinhood Chain, where Uniswap handles most of the trading. ZEC was jolted again by 21Shares, which launched a Zcash exchange-traded product in Europe on Tuesday. Both tokens are currently testing how much leverage traders are willing to put behind them.

Traders Lean Into Both

CoinGlass data showed that the open interest for ZEC was about $2.97 billion. That’s nearly three times UNI’s $988.8 million. However, the bigger number does not mean ZEC is more crowded. UNI open interest is about 15% of its $6.4 billion market cap. ZEC's market cap is around $27.5 billion, and its open interest is about 12% of that.

Data showed ZEC futures volume at $6.69 billion over 24 hours, while UNI’s volume was $2.47 billion. $9.7 million worth of ZEC positions and $4.3 million worth of UNI positions were liquidated in that window.

Robinhood Chain Adds To Uniswap’s Moments

Uniswap’s rise follows gains in Robinhood Chain’s increased momentum. Total value locked (TVL) on the chain has been steadily rising since launch and is now just over $1 billion, according to DefiLlama. Chain fees jumped in early September but have since eased off.