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.
Cypherpunk's stated goal of accumulating 5% of Zcash's supply appears on hold. Meanwhile, its own shares have dropped about 40% in the past month.
The Bull Case
Silbert made his prediction Wednesday at Bitcoin Investor Week in New York, calling privacy coins "the next asymmetric bet" with potential for 100x to 1,000x returns.
He said Bitcoin "lost the plot" on privacy as blockchain analytics firms like Chainalysis made its transactions traceable, and argued ZEC could also serve as a hedge against quantum computing threats.
If 5-10% of Bitcoin's current $1.3 trillion market cap rotated into privacy coins, that would imply $65-130 billion in new capital - dwarfing Zcash's $3.9 billion market cap today.
The Conflict
Silbert's DCG owns Grayscale, which runs the Grayscale Zcash Trust - launched in 2017 - and is actively working to convert it into a spot ETF.
Any price appreciation in ZEC directly benefits DCG's portfolio and Grayscale's fee revenue.
Silbert did not address that overlap during his remarks. The pitch also arrived the same week that Cardano's Charles Hoskinson announced a competing privacy blockchain, Midnight, launching in late March - adding another entrant to a sector that remains small relative to the ambitions staked on it.
Kostiantyn Tsentsura is a Content Writer at Yellow.com with over 8 years of experience in crypto, dedicating the last 4 years to writing about the industry. Based in Kyiv, he’s passionate about football, fishing, and kayaking. When he’s not tracking market trends or exploring crypto news, you’ll find him on the water—because even in crypto, sometimes it’s best to just go with the flow.
