Zcash news

Zcash surged more than 12 % to trade near $600 after OKX announced it would relist the token, making it the best‑performing major crypto in the past 24 hours and leaving Bitcoin struggling to regain $90,000. The relisting marks a regulatory U‑turn for OKX, which had delisted ZEC in 2023 over compliance concerns, and follows a post‑election thaw that encourages platforms to reintegrate privacy protocols. The move has sparked debate: Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas warns that a shift toward privacy coins could fragment the crypto narrative and split capital away from Bitcoin, while Van Eck’s Jan van Eck argues that investors view Zcash as a necessary complement rather than a competitor.

Privacy‑centric coins have outperformed the market, surging 276% year‑to‑date. Zcash has risen over 700% and Dash nearly 200% amid a broader slump, as regulators tighten oversight and users seek stronger privacy against surveillance. Experts say the rally reflects a shift toward utility‑driven narratives rather than short‑term meme cycles. Institutional inflows into real‑world asset tokenisation, DePIN, AI and DeFi, combined with regulatory clarity, are the key signals for spotting the next crypto trend.

The Winklevoss twins’ new data‑asset trust, Cypherpunk, has raised $100 million to buy Zcash, currently holding 233,644 ZEC and targeting up to 5 % of the circulating supply. The launch was announced at the Bitcoin Amsterdam conference and framed as a response to the rapid rise of artificial‑intelligence tools that threaten privacy. Tyler Winklevoss said Zcash is 'encrypted Bitcoin', offering a privacy‑focused layer for transactions while Bitcoin stores value. He compared the privacy wave to Bitcoin’s 2008 financial‑crisis catalyst, calling Zcash’s recent surge an inflection point and urging a broader, non‑zero‑sum view of the crypto ecosystem.

Zcash (ZEC) has outpaced Bitcoin and Ethereum during the recent downturn, but transparent on‑chain data shows no corresponding rise in new users. While the visible side of the chain peaked during a brief inscription wave, most activity has moved into the shielded Orchard pool, where 30% of the supply now resides and is invisible to public analytics. Monero’s transaction volume has remained stable, suggesting no broader privacy‑coin boom. Zcash’s price acceleration appears driven by a liquidity squeeze and improved private‑side UX rather than sector‑wide adoption, leaving traders to pay a premium that transparent metrics cannot explain.

Cypherpunk Technologies, a digital-asset treasury backed by the Winklevoss brothers, announced it bought 29,869 Zcash tokens for $18 million at an average price of $602.63, bringing its total holding to 233,644 ZEC, roughly $150 million and about 1.43% of the coin's circulating supply. The acquisition follows Cypherpunk's earlier $50 million stake. Zcash has rallied more than 10% in the past day to $640, up 140% in the last month, while Cypherpunk's average cost basis is $291, giving it about 120% in paper gains.

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Zcash has rebounded 12.6% in 24 hours, with a possible surge to $600 that could trigger about $30.8 million in short liquidations. The Chaikin Money Flow remains positive, showing continued inflows, and technical cues suggest a bullish reversal, though a miss of $521 may force a drop toward $441 or below $400.

Leap Therapeutics, once an oncology biotech, has turned into a digital treasury company after raising $58.9 million led by Winklevoss Capital. The firm now trades as Cypherpunk Technologies under ticker CYPH and has purchased $50 million of Zcash (ZEC). The deal helped the stock jump 369 % on Wednesday. Zcash’s value has doubled since the purchase, rising 12.2 % in 24 h to $523. Cypherpunk’s CEO said the firm is backing privacy‑focused crypto as a long‑term hedge against surveillance, contrasting with the short‑term focus of other digital‑treasury plays.

Arthur Hayes urged Zcash holders to withdraw coins from exchanges and move them into shielded addresses as the network’s third halving reduces block subsidies by 50%, tightening the supply curve and potentially lowering market liquidity. The surge in shielding—now 27‑30% of circulation—shrinks the effective float, raising volatility and widening basis spreads; regulatory scrutiny from the EU AML Regulation and FATF travel‑rule updates may further restrict venue access, amplifying the impact of Hayes’ “withdraw‑and‑shield” strategy.

Leap Therapeutics (LPTX) rose over 170 % in early trading after announcing a rebrand to Cypherpunk Technologies (CYPH) and a digital‑asset treasury strategy focused on Zcash. The biotech used $50 million of a $58.88 million private placement led by Winklevoss Capital to buy 203,775 ZEC tokens. CYPH added new board members, with Khing Oei as chairman and Will McEvoy as chief investment officer. The move comes amid a sharp Zcash rally—price surged from $48 to above $640 in weeks—though analysts warn of a potential correction after the token’s RSI hit 94.