Observation: Bitcoin Overshadowed by ZEC? Early BTC Supporters Are Placing Big Bets on Privacy Coins

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According to The Wall Street Journal, several early Bitcoin supporters, including Gemini co-founders the Winklevoss twins, are making significant bets on the privacy coin Zcash, believing its shielded transaction mechanism is closer to the early ideals of BTC. Grayscale filed an S-3 form on May 8, proposing to convert its Zcash Trust into the first-ever privacy coin spot ETF. ZEC is currently trading at approximately $597, with an annual gain of over 1,400%. (Previous coverage: Foundry mining pool begins mining Zcash, with nearly 1/3 of new supply flowing to DCG) (Background: Behind the 12x surge of ZEC: BTC mining pools collectively cornering the market) Cypherpunk, the treasury company established by the Winklevoss twins last November, currently holds approximately 290,062 ZEC, accounting for about 1.76% of the circulating supply, with a goal of accumulating 5% of the total supply. Tyler Winklevoss recently publicly verified a theoretical valuation model, drawing analogies between ZEC, gold, and Bitcoin, projecting a potential price of $9,700 per coin. The driving force behind this layout is not just the Winklevoss twins; DCG founder Barry Silbert has described Zcash as "Bitcoin in 2013," stating bluntly that 5-10% of Bitcoin capital could flow into privacy coins. His logic is simple: Bitcoin is unlikely to rise another 500x, but Zcash has that room. In his view, financial privacy is not just a feature preference, but a "fundamental right." Silbert is not just betting with words. Foundry, a mining pool under DCG, officially launched an institutional-grade Zcash mining pool this April, capturing nearly one-third of the network's new production within weeks of going live. On May 8, the same group's Grayscale filed an S-3 form with the SEC to convert its Zcash Trust, which manages over $200 million in assets, into a spot ETF under the ticker ZCSH, intending to list it on NYSE Arca. If approved, this would be the world's first privacy coin spot ETF. However, the challenge is that approximately 30% of ZEC's supply exists in shielded pools; how custodians will prove reserves and satisfy anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are questions the SEC will inevitably ask. It is not just the DCG ecosystem in motion; Multicoin Capital recently disclosed a large ZEC position, directly triggering a 30% short-term surge and $62 million in futures liquidations, the vast majority of which were shorts. Paradoxically, the institutional embrace of privacy coins is happening against a backdrop of tightening regulations. In 2025, 73 exchanges globally delisted privacy coins, a 43% increase from two years ago. Japan, South Korea, and India have completely banned the listing of privacy coins on exchanges, and the EU's MiCA, coupled with the DAC8 tax reporting directive, took effect this January, building walls ever higher. Yet, ZEC's market performance tells a completely opposite story, including a 49% gain in one month and a 1,400% annual increase, with its market cap swelling to nearly $10 billion, breaking into the top 15 of the crypto market. The total market cap of privacy tokens has also surpassed $24 billion. What is the difference between Zcash and Bitcoin? Zcash uses zero-knowledge proof (zk-SNARKs) technology, allowing transactions to be verified on the blockchain without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount, providing on-chain privacy features that Bitcoin lacks. What is the progress of Grayscale's Zcash ETF? Grayscale filed an S-3 form on May 8, 2026, to apply for the conversion of its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF (ticker ZCSH) to be listed on NYSE Arca, but the SEC has not yet made a ruling.

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Published:2026-05-16 05:39:24

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