The privacy asset market faces a severe correction this February 19, 2026, deeply affecting Zcash (ZEC). According to records from Investing, the asset has experienced a 12% decline over the last 24 hours, moving from $295 toward a critical support zone located at $260. This drop is accompanied by a daily trading volume that reflects significant institutional selling pressure.
The fragility of the ecosystem becomes evident in the derivatives market, where bearish sentiment has begun to dominate. Data shows that capital flow in perpetual contracts has entered negative territory, with a net outflow of 52 million dollars. Therefore, the current ZEC Long/Short ratio stands below parity, indicating that traders are mostly positioning themselves in favor of further declines in the short term.
Analysis of the bullish momentum exhaustion on the daily timeframe
The technical deterioration of the cryptocurrency has accelerated following the loss of key psychological levels. Observing TradingView indicators, a bearish MACD crossover on the daily timeframe stands out alongside a persistent negative trend in the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator. Since buying momentum has vanished, the most likely scenario points toward lateral consolidation before any attempt at organic recovery.
Despite the prevailing negative sentiment, buying interest in the spot market has not completely eroded yet. During the February 18 session, investors injected approximately 18 million dollars in direct ZEC purchases, which could act as a buffer against capital flight from derivatives. However, demand resilience will be put to the test if the price fails to sustain the $260 support level.
Historical correlation with other privacy tokens suggests that this movement is part of a broader capital rotation. While perpetual contracts show liquidations worth 2.98 million dollars, the funding rate remains slightly positive for now. This implies that, despite the pressure, a fraction of the market still holds long positions hoping for an imminent technical rebound.
Will Zcash manage to avoid a deeper crash toward the previous cycle’s lows?
The immediate future of Zcash will depend on the bulls’ ability to reclaim the $280 zone before the weekly close. If the capital flight in the futures market does not stop, the asset could enter an aggressive technical capitulation phase. However, since the operating volume remains high, volatility will offer arbitrage opportunities for the most experienced traders in the sector.
Monitoring on-chain data will be essential to identify signs of accumulation by whales. Historically, double-digit drops in Zcash often precede periods of deep re-accumulation if privacy fundamentals remain intact. The community now awaits a signal of a turnaround in the stochastic oscillator to validate the end of the current selling streak.
