tl;dr
Zcash (ZEC) surged 30% after Arthur Hayes' bullish prediction, pushing its market cap past $5 billion. The rally highlights growing interest in privacy coins amid regulatory scrutiny and investor FOMO.
**Arthur Hayes Sparks Zcash Surge as Privacy Coins Gain Momentum**
Zcash (ZEC) experienced a dramatic 30% surge in the past 24 hours, peaking at $363 after Arthur Hayes, a prominent crypto entrepreneur, predicted the privacy-focused token could eventually reach $10,000. The rally propelled Zcash’s market capitalization past $5 billion for the first time, making it the top-performing asset among the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap over the period. This explosive move was largely attributed to Hayes’s viral “vibe check” post on X, which triggered widespread fear of missing out (FOMO) among traders.
Hayes, known for his market-moving commentary, has a history of influencing crypto prices. At the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo, he predicted that Hyperliquid’s HYPE token could surge 126 times in three years, which briefly boosted the token’s price by 4%. His latest endorsement of Zcash appears to have sparked a similar frenzy. Crypto trader AB Kuai Dong, a contributor to Binance Square, credited Hayes with igniting the surge, calling him a “legendary Silicon Valley investor” whose comments drove FOMO across the market. Meanwhile, Clemente, a board member of crypto treasury firm K9Strategy, admitted to jumping on the rally, stating, “I was so full of fomo I couldn’t stay on the sidelines.”
The rally also reflects broader investor interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. As governments worldwide intensify scrutiny of encryption and anonymity tools, traders are increasingly turning to projects like Zcash. JonnyJpegs, a crypto analyst, speculated that the surge was fueled by investors seeking to hedge against tightening regulations on digital privacy. “Zcash’s jump is a signal of growing demand for privacy-centric solutions in a regulated landscape,” he said.
Zcash, launched in 2016, stands out for its use of zero-knowledge proofs, enabling transactions that are either transparent or fully shielded, concealing sender, receiver, and amount. Over the past 30 days, the token has surged an astonishing 550%, cementing its status as a rising star in the crypto space.
Despite the enthusiasm, some remain skeptical. Eddie Johnson of Grow My Bag praised Hayes’s influence but cautioned that his predictions sometimes stretch credibility. “I have a lot of respect for Arthur, but I think he’s been kind of stretching it with a couple of his comments, including this one,” he remarked.
As Zcash continues to capture attention, the interplay between influential voices like Hayes and shifting regulatory dynamics will likely shape the future of privacy coins. For now, the token’s meteoric rise underscores both the power of market sentiment and the enduring appeal of digital privacy in an increasingly monitored world.