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Hassan Shittu
Journalist
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Cypherpunk Technologies has deepened its bet on Zcash, adding fuel to a growing debate over whether privacy-focused cryptocurrencies can play a role similar to Bitcoin in corporate treasuries.
The Nasdaq-listed company said it purchased an additional 56,418.09 ZEC for about $29 million at an average price of $514.02 per token.
With the latest transaction, Cypherpunk now holds 290,062.67 ZEC, equal to roughly 1.76% of Zcash’s circulating supply.
The company said its total position was accumulated at a blended average price of $334.41 per ZEC.
Cypherpunk Sets Its Sights on 5% of the Zcash Network
Chief investment officer Will McEvoy said the company is working toward a long-term goal of holding 5% of the Zcash network.
He framed the strategy around the growing relevance of financial privacy while also pointing to plans to expand into other privacy-focused technologies.
The move comes after a sharp corporate pivot, as the firm was formerly known as Leap Therapeutics before rebranding in November as Cypherpunk Technologies and has now repositioned itself as a Zcash-focused digital asset company.
Its stock has been increasing almost 170% since the rebrand, up to approximately $1.18 compared to approximately $0.44, as per Google Finance.
Zcash, in its turn, has been registering among the most robust performances in the crypto market this year. The token has increased over 800% in the last 12 months and currently trades at roughly $530, based on CoinGecko.
Bitcoin, by comparison, is down by approximately 5% over the same period, though ZEC was up almost 27% in the past 7 days alone.
Notably, Zcash daily trade volume dropped by approximately half to approximately 499 million dollars in the last 24 hours, showing that activity slowed following the recent explosion.
As Bitcoin Dominates Treasuries, Zcash Offers a Privacy Alternative
Zcash is a fork of Bitcoin, which was released in 2016 and has many structural features in common with BTC, such as a limit of 21 million coins and a proof-of-work blockchain.
The difference lies in the privacy, in which Zcash employs zero-knowledge, known as zk-SNARKs, proofs that users can use to conceal the transaction information like sender, recipient, and value, yet still provide optional transparency and auditability by using viewing keys.
Those features have shaped how ZEC is being discussed as a treasury asset. Bitcoin’s appeal to corporations has rested on verifiable scarcity, deep liquidity, and growing regulatory clarity, reinforced by the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Companies holding BTC typically treat it as a long-term store of value or macro hedge, with potential returns tied to price appreciation rather than operating income.
Zcash, by comparison, is often described by companies adopting it as a hedge centered on privacy.
Cypherpunk and a small number of other firms, including Reliance Global Group, have cited the need to protect sensitive financial activity as a reason to hold ZEC.
Like Bitcoin, Zcash does not generate cash flow, and any treasury “revenue” would come from unrealized or realized gains if prices rise.
Market participants are divided on near-term price direction, with Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes saying ZEC could be setting up for a move toward $1,000, pointing to potential liquidity shifts that may favor privacy-focused assets.
However, others are more cautious, as analyst Eric Van Tassel has warned a pullback toward $400 is possible, while macro investor Raoul Pal recently described Zcash’s rally as looking more like capital rotation than a confirmed long-term trend.
Even after its recent surge, Zcash remains more than 80% below its all-time high of $3,191.93.
