Arthur Hayes Predicts Zcash (ZEC) Surge to $10,000-$20,000, Citing Privacy and Halving
Arthur Hayes Predicts Zcash (ZEC) Surge to $10,000-$20,000, Citing Privacy and Halving
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has presented an extremely bullish outlook for Zcash (ZEC), forecasting a potential surge to $10,000-$20,000. Hayes attributes this significant upside to ZEC's technical maturation, including the Halo 2 upgrade which addressed 'trusted setup' issues, combined with a demonstrated increase in on-chain privacy usage. He also highlights the impending Zcash halving as a crucial timing catalyst. Hayes emphasizes Zcash's enhanced privacy features as a key differentiator in a market increasingly focused on digital forensics, contrasting it with challenges faced by other privacy coins like Monero. The crypto veteran revealed his substantial personal investment in ZEC, calling it one of his potentially best trades of the current cycle, expecting rapid price appreciation.
Arthur Hayes Bullish on Zcash (ZEC)
Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of BitMEX, has presented a compelling case for Zcash (ZEC) to experience a rapid and significant price appreciation, potentially reaching $10,000 to $20,000. Speaking in a recent Coin Bureau interview, Hayes outlined a three-pronged bullish thesis for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
Technical Maturation and Privacy Enhancement
Hayes highlighted Zcash's evolution since its 2016 inception, specifically pointing to the Halo 2 upgrade. This protocol improvement has, in his view, removed the critical 'trusted setup issue' that previously hindered ZEC's institutional adoption. He states that this reframes Zcash from an experimental R&D project into a robust privacy asset capable of passing institutional scrutiny.
Furthermore, Hayes cited personal experience with Zashi, Zcash’s flagship wallet, describing its shielded swap functionality as an 'industrial-strength mixer,' akin to 'Tornado Cash on steroids.' He also referenced data indicating a secular rise in actual privacy usage on the Zcash network, with shielded transactions approaching 30%.
Scarcity and Demand Narrative
The demand for true cash-like privacy in an era of advanced on-chain forensics is a crucial element of Hayes's argument. He differentiates Zcash's strong privacy from Bitcoin's pseudonymity, asserting a need for untraceable internet cash. In contrast, he mentioned reports of Monero's de-anonymization by Japanese authorities, positioning Zcash as a superior privacy solution.
The third pillar of his thesis is scarcity, with the upcoming Zcash halving in November acting as a timing catalyst. Hayes views this mechanical issuance drop, combined with rising demand for privacy, as unusually potent for a small-float asset. He also noted the illiquidity and limited access to ZEC through traditional OTC brokers as both a risk and an an opportunity, anticipating price discovery through permissionless rails.
Personal Investment and Outlook
Hayes revealed that a discussion with Naval Ravikant prompted him to re-evaluate Zcash, leading to a significant personal investment. He stated, 'I bought a few million bucks on the spot at that point,' and continues to accumulate, believing this trade could be one of his most successful of the cycle. He expects the upside to materialize in weeks rather than years. At press time, ZEC traded around $464.