Arthur Hayes Reveals Zcash as Key Portfolio Asset as It Enters Top 20 Crypto List

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Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in 2016, is back in the spotlight after years of muted performance. The growing demand, high profile endorsements and major technical upgrades has made Zcash one of the most talked about cryptocurrencies in 2025.

The crypto community is curious about what is driving the recent surge and where it might go next.

Arthur Hayes Puts Zcash in the Spotlight

Amid its rising appeal, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX recently shared that ZEC has climbed to become the second-largest crypto holding in his family office, Maelstrom, right after Bitcoin.

Hayes has repeatedly mentioned Zcash in his X posts and has suggested that it could even hit $10,000.

Privacy coins are cryptocurrencies which allow users to conduct transactions privately and anonymously.

What Makes Zcash Different

Zcash uses advanced zero-knowledge proofs to enable fully encrypted transactions, all while maintaining the blockchain transparency and security. It is the first cryptocurrency to implement zk encryption for private peer-to-peer payments.

Zcash has a fixed supply of 21 million coins and a halving schedule similar to Bitcoin. It operates as a decentralized protocol, so users always have full control over their own funds.

Zcash Market Cap Soars

Zcash climbed to as high as $734 yesterday, with its market cap topping $10 billion, surpassing Hyperliquid and major altcoins like SUI and Hedera. It surged over 30% in just a few hours to climb to $735.

It is currently trading around $576, down about 6% in the past 24 hours, but still up over 200% in the past month and a massive 1,200% over the past year. It has also climbed into the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

ZEC is rallying despite the broader market downturn, as Bitcoin recently fell below $100,000. Experts say that its rise is due to technical upgrades and growing adoption.

Technical Upgrades

A recent report highlights how Zcash has grown from a niche privacy project into a fully working encrypted-money network.

Its shielded adoption has surged, and the Zashi wallet has made private transfers the default for users. Meanwhile, Project Tachyon, led by Sean Bowe, is working to handle thousands of private transactions per second.

Zcash has even overtaken Monero to become the largest privacy-focused cryptocurrency by market cap.

Meanwhile, the privacy coins market has also gained momentum. The Privacy market cap is currently at $27.6 Billion, up 4.8% in the last 24 hours. Zcash is leading with a $9.2 billion market cap.

However, Samson Mow , CEO of Jan3 and Bitcoin advocate, has warned investors to reconsider their next move. He compared ZEC to Dogecoin and suggested that they use their profits to buy Bitcoin instead.