Zcash Soars After Arthur Hayes Predicts $10K Target

The surge followed Hayes’s viral “vibe check” post on X, which caused widespread FOMO among traders. As Zcash’s market cap topped $5 billion for the first time, analysts suggested the rally also reflects renewed investor interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies amid the growing global scrutiny of encryption and anonymity tools.

Arthur Hayes Ignites Zcash Rally

Zcash (ZEC) surged by close to 30% over the past 24 hours after well known crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes predicted that the privacy-focused token could eventually reach $10,000. The rally saw ZEC climb from $272 to a peak of $363 after Hayes’s “vibe check” post on X. This made it the best-performing asset among the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization over the past day.

Hayes has developed a reputation for moving markets with his predictions. At the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo, he previously forecasted that Hyperliquid’s HYPE token could rise 126 times in three years, which triggered a brief 4% price bump for the token. His latest Zcash endorsement appeared to spark a similar wave of enthusiasm.

Crypto trader and Binance Square contributor AB Kuai Dong suggested on X that the surge was largely driven by Hayes’s influence, and described him as a “legendary Silicon Valley investor” whose comment prompted widespread FOMO across the market. Another trader, Clemente, who is a board member of the crypto treasury firm K9Strategy, admitted to joining the rally, saying they were “so full of fomo” they couldn’t stay on the sidelines.

Others believe the surge forms part of the growing interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of encryption and anonymity tools worldwide. Trader JonnyJpegs speculated that Zcash’s jump was fueled by investors looking to hedge against tightening government controls on digital privacy.

Zcash’s price action over the past month (Source: CoinMarketCap)

Zcash has now rallied an astonishing 550% over the past 30 days, and surpassed a $5 billion market capitalization for the first time, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token was launched in 2016, and it uses zero-knowledge proofs to allow transactions that can either be transparent or fully shielded, hiding the sender, receiver, and amount.