Key Takeaways

• Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) surged 30% in 24 hours, hitting a peak of $355, after crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes posted a “vibe check” predicting a long-term target of $10,000.

• The sudden price spike and resulting 490% 30-day rally are largely attributed to the FOMO generated by Hayes’ influential endorsemen.

• The rally also reflects renewed investor interest in privacy-focused tokens (like $XMR).

Arthur Hayes’ $10,000 Prediction Propels Zcash Rally

Talk about a rally! Zcash $ZEC, the privacy-focused crypto, just went on a tear, spiking an incredible 30% in 24 hours to hit a high of $355, up from $272. What lit the fuse? None other than crypto heavyweight Arthur Hayes, the former BitMEX boss, who dropped a casual “vibe check” post on X.

His prediction? A long-term price of $10,000 for Zcash. The immediate fallout saw Zcash become the day’s top gainer among major coins, instantly vaulting its market cap above the $5 billion mark, a historic first.

Endorsement Triggers Market FOMO

Hayes’s bullish prediction quickly became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the highly reactive crypto market. His endorsement, given his reputation as a “legendary Silicon Valley investor,” immediately generated an intense wave of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) among retail traders.

Crypto community members and analysts observed that the post drove a significant rush of capital, with one trader admitting to being “filled with so much fomo” they couldn’t stay on the sidelines. Hayes has a history of market-moving predictions, having previously caused a spike in Hyperliquid’s HYPE token after forecasting a potential 126x increase.

Renewed Focus on Privacy Tokens

Forget just the Arthur Hayes effect, this Zcash surge is really a flashing neon sign that investors are waking up to privacy again. As governments keep ratcheting up regulations and sniffing around encryption, traders are betting big on tokens that offer genuine anonymity.

Zcash, which has been around since 2016, is perfectly positioned for this, thanks to its brilliant zero-knowledge proofs that let you transact in total secrecy (sender, receiver, and amount shielded).

And it’s not just Zcash: even its long-standing rival, Monero (XMR), is catching a bid, it was up a respectable 3.6% in the same 24 hours, despite being delisted from big exchanges like Binance and OKX due to those exact regulatory worries. Zcash’s incredible 490% moonshot over the last month just shouts one thing: the market has a massive appetite for high-stakes privacy plays right now.

Final Thoughts

Arthur Hayes’s high-profile ‘vibe check’ provided the immediate spark, turning Zcash into a phenomenal market outperformer. However, the underlying, prolonged momentum suggests this is more than just celebrity trading; it reflects investors are potentially seeking privacy-focused digital assets as a hedge against rising global surveillance and regulatory oversight.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Zcash’s primary privacy feature?
Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to allow users to conduct “shielded” transactions where the sender, recipient, and amount are all kept private on the public ledger.

How much did Zcash rally after Arthur Hayes’ post?
Zcash rallied 30% in the 24 hours following the post, peaking at $355, and had achieved a massive 490% surge over the preceding 30 days.

What other privacy coin was mentioned in the news?
Monero (XMR), the largest privacy coin by market cap, also saw a gain of 3.6%, though it faces stricter regulatory delistings than Zcash.