ZBT 24-Hour Surge Analysis: Open Interest Hits All-Time High
TL;DR
ZBT (ZEROBASE) experienced a significant price surge on December 29, 2025, with a 24-hour increase of 56.9%-70.6%, rising from $0.101 to $0.169-$0.183. Open interest exploded by +130.43% to $87.97M, confirming a new all-time high. Short liquidation accounted for 84-92%, indicating a clear short squeeze. Key catalysts included the global node upgrade on December 19-20 and the launch of ZBT Tickets Phase II on December 25, which, combined with the highly leveraged market environment, fueled this surge.
Core Analysis
Price performance confirmed
24-Hour Price Increase Verification : As of 05:32 UTC on December 29, 2025, the ZBT price rapidly increased from approximately $0.101 (00:00 UTC on the 29th) to $0.169-$0.183, with the cross-data source increase as follows:
| Data source | Current price | 24-hour increase | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoinGecko | $0.1829 | +70.61% | 05:32 UTC |
| CoinMarketCap | $0.1816 | +69.69% | 05:31 UTC |
| Surf data | $0.1692 | +56.90% | 05:32 UTC |
The 55.9% increase mentioned by the user closely matches the 56.90% increase in the SURF data, falling at the lower limit of the cross-validation range. The price surged from a low of $0.100835 to a high of $0.169973 within 5 hours, a gain of 68.5%.
Market size : Market capitalization of approximately $39.95M-$41.70M (circulating 245M ZBT), 24-hour trading volume of $146M-$160.75M, and a trading volume/market capitalization ratio as high as 3.7-4.0 times, indicating extremely high speculative activity.
Key catalyst timeline
| date | event | Influence |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-15 | Liquidity injection: 15M ZBT + 500K USDT to GSR | Enhancing spot/contract market depth |
| 2025-12-19/20 | Global Prover node upgrades (Singapore, Paris, Tokyo) | Increase TPS to 7,000+, strengthening the technical fundamentals. |
| 2025-12-25 | ZBT Tickets Phase II Released | Gold notes need to be burned at a rate of 5,000 ZBT, creating deflationary pressure. |
| 2025-12-26 | KuCoin analysis attributes 65% price increase | Increased market attention |
| 2025-12-28-29 | Momentum continuation + short squeeze | Amplified gains in a liquidity-scarce environment |
Derivatives Market Analysis
Open interest hit a record high
Total Volume and Growth : As of 05:33 UTC on December 29, 2025, open interest in ZBT futures reached $87.97M (481.85M contracts), a 24-hour surge of +130.43% and a 4-hour surge of +159.31% .
Based on the explosive growth of +130%, the OI level is very likely to reach a new historical high since ZBT was launched, reflecting the extreme surge in market leverage and speculative interest.
Exchange distribution :
| Exchange | Open contracts | 24-hour changes |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | $32.38M | +153.74% |
| Bybit | $17.21M | +93.84% |
| BingX | $7.65M | +66.27% |
| Bitget | $7.16M | +207.67% |
| OKX | $7.13M | +209.27% |
| WhiteBIT | $6.06M | +151.73% |
Binance dominates the market share (36.8%), but Bitget and OKX have the fastest growth in OI (over +200%), indicating a large influx of new leveraged long positions.
Significant short squeeze characteristics
Funding rates : Most exchanges showed negative rates (Bybit -0.0487%, BingX -0.2519%, Bitget -0.1095%, OKX -0.3032%), with only Binance showing a slight positive rate (+0.005%). Negative funding rates mean that short sellers are paying long positions, which in turn incentivizes more long positions and supports upward price momentum.
Liquidation data :
| Time period | Total liquidation amount | Multiple liquidations | Short selling liquidation | Short position percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | $2.73M | $0.44M (16%) | $2.28M (84%) | 84% |
| 4 hours | $2.42M | $0.22M (9%) | $2.20M (91%) | 91% |
| 1 hour | $1.33M | $0.10M (8%) | $1.22M (92%) | 92% |
Short liquidation accounted for as high as 84-92%, which, together with the surge in OI and negative funding rates, confirms a typical leveraged short squeeze mechanism: short sellers are forced to close their positions, pushing up prices, which in turn triggers more short liquidations, forming a positive feedback loop.
Liquidation risk areas :
- Support below : Long positions are concentrated in the $0.16-$0.17 range, with a total liquidation risk of approximately $6.21 million concentrated at $0.137.
- Resistance above : The cumulative short-selling risk is around $0.204, which is $3.18M, but the resistance is relatively light in the short term ($0.169 onwards) (only $24k).
With the current price around $0.17, the risk of long positions being liquidated is high. A pullback to $0.14 could trigger a chain reaction of liquidations. The risk to short positions is limited if the price rises to $0.20+, and there is little resistance to another surge in the short term.
Social sentiment analysis
Key Narrative
Technology-driven upgrades : ZBT is positioned as a privacy-first ZK computing network, enabling verifiable real yield through zero-knowledge proofs and trusted hardware. The global hub node upgrades on December 20th (Singapore, Paris, Tokyo, etc.) boosted the throughput of DeFi applications such as zkStaking to over 7,000 TPS, strengthening the infrastructure narrative.
Deflationary mechanism activated : The ZBT Tickets Phase II, launched on December 25, requires users to hold more ZBT to mint tickets of different grades (gold tickets require 5,000 ZBT to be destroyed), directly increasing secondary market demand and creating deflationary pressure, becoming a direct trigger for soaring prices.
Divergent opinions among influencers
| Analyst | Opinion | Key arguments |
|---|---|---|
| @AbnormalAIX | High risk warning | RSI 88+ - Extremely overbought; 44% supply concentrated among top holders; pre-emptive phishing attack on December 12th ($240K stolen); impending unlocking risk; $0.165 resistance / $0.140 support. |
| @MasteringCrypt | Bullish to $0.210 | On December 29th, a long was recommended at $0.148-$0.155. Technically, the price is above key moving averages; for momentum to continue, it needs to hold above $0.138. |
| @Nazo_ku | Whale "pump and dump" mode | The price rose 115% from $0.074 to $0.164 before falling back 30% to $0.116, involving cyclical transfers to exchanges. |
Community Response
On the positive side : ZBT topped the gainers list on multiple exchanges (+59%), and the launch of new exchanges such as Bitverse PerpDEX sparked discussions about zero-gas perpetual trading. The community is optimistic about the RealFi ecosystem empowered by ZK.
Cautionary note : While the front-end phishing incident on December 12th ($240K loss) was quickly mitigated by Binance, trust issues continue to fester within the community. The thin liquidity during the holiday season is said to have amplified price volatility, and this, combined with ticket demand and institutional arbitrage, creates a short-term bubble risk.
On-chain data analysis
Holder distribution and concentration
Multi-chain deployment : ZBT is deployed on Ethereum (main chain), Base, and BNB Chain, with the contract address 0xfab99fcf605fd8f4593edb70a43ba56542777777 . The total Ethereum supply is 953,994,568 ZBT, while activity on Base and BSC is extremely limited (Base has only 13,903 ZBT).
Concentration risk :
| chain | Top holders | Open interest | percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0x3e49...c939 | 422.92M ZBT | 44.33% |
| BSC | Binance Wallet | 16.63M ZBT | 36.12% |
The top 5 Ethereum holders collectively control approximately 93% of the supply, and the top 10 control approximately 99%, indicating an extremely high risk of centralization. The 44% concentration mentioned by @AbnormalAIX in the social analysis is consistent with the on-chain data.
Recent large transfers (December 27 to December 29, 2025)
Major flows (all on Ethereum):
| date | Outgoing address | Transfer address | quantity | Value (approximately) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-28 02:21 | 0xfdea...be2 | 0x244d...f26 | 2.2M ZBT | ~$222k |
| 12-27 02:54 | 0xfdea...be2 | 0x244d...f26 | 1.5M ZBT | ~$152k |
| 12-28 21:11 | 0xfdea...be2 | 0x244d...f26 | 1.4M ZBT | ~$141k |
| 12-28 01:12 | 0x98c4...75a | Binance | 1.05M ZBT | ~$106k |
A total of approximately 5.15M ZBT ($520k) was transferred within 48 hours, of which 4.1M flowed to the same address (0x244d...f26), which may involve large-scale portfolio rebalancing or OTC transactions.
Exchange fund flows (December 27 to December 29, 2025, Ethereum only)
| Exchange | Inflow | outflow | Net inflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 6.37M ZBT | 4.41M ZBT | +1.96M (+$198k) |
| KuCoin | 232k ZBT | 87k ZBT | +145k ($14.6k) |
| Bybit | 981k ZBT | 2.26M ZBT | -1.28M ($129k) |
The total net inflow was approximately +0.83M ZBT (+$84k), indicating a moderate accumulation on exchanges. However, the on-chain inflow was relatively small compared to the $87M OI and $146M trading volume, suggesting that most speculative activity occurred in the off-chain futures market.
Token Economics
Supply structure : Total supply is 1 billion ZBT, with approximately 245M (24.5%) in circulation, and FDV is approximately $170.2M-$182.4M (price $0.17-$0.18).
Unlock Plan :
- Node staking (43.75%): Linear release begins one month after TGE.
- Team/Consultant (20%): 1-year lock-in + 48-month linear growth
- Investors (11.25%): 1-year lock-up + 24-month linear lock-up
- No major unlock events scheduled for December 2025.
The low circulation rate (24.5%) means that 75.5% of the supply remains to be unlocked in the future, posing a long-term risk of selling pressure, but no immediate threat in the short term.
in conclusion
ZBT's 24-hour surge (56.9%-70.6%) and all-time high in open interest ($87.97M, +130%) on December 29, 2025, were driven by a confluence of factors: technological upgrades (global node deployment), innovative token economics (ZBT Tickets deflationary mechanism), and a squeeze on leveraged short positions (84-92% short liquidation) during a holiday period with scarce liquidity. Strong market momentum, negative funding rates, and slight upward liquidation resistance support short-term continuation. However, extremely overbought RSI (88+), a 44% holder concentration, low circulating supply (24.5%), and trust fragility following recent phishing attacks pose significant risks. The current price of $0.17 is in a key liquidation zone, with support/resistance testing points below $0.14 and above $0.20. Investors should be wary of the two-way risks of a highly leveraged market and the potential for a "pump and dump" scenario.