Zcash Crashes 68% From Peak As Its Biggest Backer Predicts Privacy Coin Boom

Zcash (ZEC) has lost roughly 68% of its value since peaking at $744 in November, falling to around $235 on Thursday - and the Winklevoss-backed treasury firm that aggressively accumulated the token has stopped buying.

At the same time, Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert is predicting that 5-10% of Bitcoin's market capitalization will rotate into privacy coins like Zcash over the coming years.

The competing dynamics - institutional buyer on pause, influential backer talking his book - capture the tension at the center of the privacy coin sector right now.

The Crash

ZEC was the top-performing large-cap cryptocurrency of 2025, surging over 1,200% from September lows before reversing hard.

The token has dropped roughly 38% in the past month alone, according to CoinGecko data. It hit a four-month low below $220 on Feb. 5 before bouncing.

Cypherpunk Technologies, the Winklevoss-backed firm that adopted a Zcash treasury strategy in November, has not disclosed a new purchase since Dec. 30. The company holds 290,062 ZEC - about 1.76% of circulating supply - at an average cost of $334 per token. At current prices, that position is roughly $26 million underwater, according to The Defiant.