Horizen spikes 60% to lead gainers as BTC, ETH bounce

Horizen price is up more than 60% in 24 hours as the cryptocurrency market tries to recover from the massive decline that sent top altcoins crashing to key support levels.

On December 20, the price of Horizen (ZEN) rose to $26.34 while Bitcoin (BTC) was trading above $97,000 and Ethereum (ETH) bulls pushed above $3,400. The cryptocurrency, which rebounded sharply following Grayscale Investments’ recent announcement, hit a multi-year high and is among the top gainers among the top 500 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

ZEN traded at a low of $14.55 on December 19. However, despite the broader crypto crash and staggering liquidations of $1.4 billion, the altcoin price was hovering above $26 early in the US trading session.

According to Crypto.news price data, Horizen recorded a trading volume of over $397 million in 24-hour trading volume and its market capitalization exceeded $407 million. These measurements reflected increases of 294% and 62%, respectively, over the last 24 hours. Although ZEN is up almost 200% in the past month, its current levels are still 84% below the all-time high of $168 reached in May 2021.

If the broader crypto market continues its recovery, ZEN bulls could aim for March 2022 highs near $50.

The positive momentum benefited from the opening of the Grayscale ZEN Trust to qualified investors. Altcoin prices rose after the digital asset manager announced the fund that will offer qualified investors access to Horizen.

Earlier this month, Horizen’s native token underwent a final halving as the project geared up for a significant change in its tokenomics. ZEN will not see further halvings as the new network mechanism allows the emission rate to decrease.

This is because Horizen is switching from a proof-of-work mining model that mirrors Bitcoin’s halving cycle to a new staking mechanism in 2025. Horizen’s last halving occurred on December 12, 2024.

The new tokenomics for Horizen will go into effect in the first half of 2025.