Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has disclosed that privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) has become the second-largest holding in his family office, Maelstrom.
“Due to the rapid ascent in price, ZEC is now the 2nd largest LIQUID holding in MaelstromFund portfolio behind BTC,” Hayes posted on X.
Zcash’s meteoric rise has captured the attention of investors in recent weeks, with the coin surging more than 400% over the past month — from $137 to over $730.
Other privacy-focused tokens such as Dash, Decred, and ZKsync have also recorded strong gains, all rising by more than 100% in the same period.
By contrast, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether have remained relatively flat, reflecting uncertainty in broader markets.
Correction After Rally
Despite its strong performance, Zcash saw a pullback of nearly 12% in the last 24 hours, trading around $548 at the time of writing.
Its market capitalization now sits at approximately $8.9 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, while trading volumes surged 139% to reach $4.63 billion in a day.
Zcash currently has 16.28 million coins in circulation, with a total supply cap of 21 million.
Its fully diluted valuation (FDV) stands near $11.5 billion, making it one of the most valuable privacy coins in the market.
Zcash’s structure — which allows both transparent and shielded transactions — has drawn increasing attention as users prioritize financial privacy.
The project uses a proof-of-work consensus model similar to Bitcoin and maintains the same 21 million token limit.
Privacy Narrative Sparks Renewed Interest
According to Zcash Foundation executive director Alex Bornstein, the renewed demand for ZEC is entirely organic.
Bornstein said the price rally reflects growing public concern over digital surveillance and data ownership.
Speaking on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast, he explained, “The recent resurgence of Zcash has been entirely organic, fueled by rising public concern over government surveillance and data control.”
He emphasized that the foundation did not initiate or fund any campaigns to boost awareness.
“We were surprised to see when these mentions started popping up. Then to see that kind of wave just start to spread and then crest was extraordinary,” Bornstein said.