Competition for Bitcoin: Why Arthur Hayes and the Winklevoss twins are now relying on Zcash

Competition for Bitcoin: Why Arthur Hayes and the Winklevoss twins are now relying on Zcash

Zcash is back in the spotlight: prominent investors such as the Winklevoss twins and ex-BitMEX boss Arthur Hayes are betting on the privacy coin.

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Crypto market in turmoil: Winklevoss-Capital pumps millions of US dollars into Zcash

A current price driver comes from the institutional side. As stated in a press release dated November 11, 2025, NASDAQ-listed Leap Therapeutics has made a radical strategic shift and is now operating as Cypherpunk Technologies – a digital asset treasury (DAT) with a clear focus on Zcash.

According to the company, the project is largely financed by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Through their investment arm Winklevoss Capital, they have already committed over $50 million, with the goal of raising up to 5 percent of the total ZEC offering. According to data from the press release, Cypherpunk currently holds around 203,000 ZEC at an average price of $245 – about 1.25 percent of the circulating supply.

Tyler Winklevoss explains his move to X with a fundamental ideal: “Privacy is the prerequisite for many of our freedoms. […] Zcash is the encrypted Bitcoin, or digital cash.” The vision behind it: While Bitcoin is established as a store of value, Zcash is intended to become the leading vehicle for private, censorship-resistant transactions in the future – especially in times of increasing surveillance and advancing AI technologies. The market reaction was not long in coming and Zcash then rose sharply at times.

Cypherpunk shares in rally mode: Rebirth of digital asset treasuries?

Parallel to the ZEC hype, the shares of Cypherpunk Technologies (formerly LPTX) also made headlines. After the announcement, it temporarily increased by almost 370 percent, making it clear that the market is again increasingly looking at the digital asset treasury model.

This concept was made famous in particular by Strategy CEO Michael Saylor, whose Bitcoin strategy has been making waves for years: companies are actively using their balance sheets for strategic crypto investments. Cypherpunk is now taking up this idea with a focus on privacy assets – an approach that is gaining new relevance in the context of growing regulatory debates.

Arthur Hayes calls for self-custody: Zcash becomes the top position

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the derivatives exchange BitMEX, is also involved in the ZEC momentum. In a post on Platform X, he urged investors to withdraw Zcash from centralized exchanges and secure it in self-custody wallets.

As Hayes explained on X, Zcash is now the second largest position in the Maelstrom fund. Hayes’ voice has traditionally carried weight in the crypto sector and may have generated additional demand.

More tailwind for privacy coins?

The commitment of the Winklevoss twins and Arthur Hayes could take Zcash into a new phase in the long term – both as a digital cash and as a strategic investment in an increasingly data-driven world. Whether Zcash can continue its recent rally now depends heavily on how institutional interest develops and how the market reacts to the concept of a full privacy treasury.

Bettina Schneider / editorial team finanzen.net