On October 26, 2025, the crypto world was ignited again.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes posted a brief but shocking tweet on platform X:
"$ZEC will reach $10,000."
This news instantly ignited the market.
On that day, the market capitalization of the privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) exceeded $5 billion, setting a new historical high.
In just two weeks, $ZEC surged from $99.74 to $299.23, an increase of over 200%; while in the past year, its increase has been astonishingly reaching 800%.
The market is speculating whether this means a real resurgence of the 'privacy track'?
The starting point of everything: a statement from Naval.
On October 1, 2025, Silicon Valley investor philosopher Naval Ravikant wrote the following statement on X:
"Bitcoin protects you from fiat. Zcash protects you from Bitcoin."
(Bitcoin protects you from fiat risk; Zcash protects you from Bitcoin risk.)
This statement seems brief, yet it has sparked deep reflection and resonance within the global crypto community.
Bitcoin is seen as 'digital gold' against inflation and currency debasement, but its transparent ledger structure means all transactions can be traced.
Anyone can check the transaction records and balance of a certain wallet—this poses a potential risk to privacy and asset security.
The design philosophy of Zcash is precisely to fill this gap. It is based on Zero-Knowledge Proof technology, allowing transactions to be verified without disclosing any transaction details.
This means:
The identities of both parties in the transaction are hidden.
The transaction amount is encrypted.
Transaction records are untraceable.
From this perspective, Naval's statement that "Zcash is the insurance of Bitcoin" is not an exaggerated metaphor.
It represents that when financial privacy is repriced, ZEC may become a new safe-haven asset.
Arthur Hayes reignites the market.
As a trading giant that has accurately predicted multiple bull and bear cycles, Arthur Hayes's statements often carry a 'traffic light' effect.
After he wrote the statement 'ZEC will reach $10,000' on X, Zcash's trading volume surged nearly 400% that day.
Hayes stated in the subsequent AMA:
"Privacy coins are the most undervalued asset class in the next wave of cycles. When AI, CBDC, and on-chain identity become fully popularized, people will truly realize the value of 'privacy'."
Against the backdrop of accelerating trends in global central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and on-chain real-name systems, privacy has become a scarce resource.
And this is the core logic behind the market's reevaluation of privacy coins like ZEC.
The real driving force behind ZEC's surge: it's not just the celebrity effect.
ZEC has recently surged; aside from the 'celebrity effect' from Hayes and Naval, there are deeper reasons:
Regulatory focus is shifting:
The recent regulatory focus of the United States and the European Union has shifted from 'banning privacy coins' to a 'selectable privacy' mechanism. Zcash, due to its compatibility with both transparent and private transaction modes, is viewed as a 'middle path' between compliance and privacy.
Technological upgrades and on-chain applications are rebooting:
The Zcash Foundation announced it will introduce the Halo 2 zero-knowledge proof system to lower transaction costs and speed up private transfer speeds. ZEC is also connecting with multiple DeFi bridges, like Thorchain and Osmosis, to enhance on-chain liquidity.
The global demand for privacy is heating up:
With the expansion of AI data mining and on-chain identity systems (such as Worldcoin, ENS, TONID), people are beginning to worry about whether 'privacy assets will be exposed'. This has given ZEC's narrative renewed real-world support.
The return of privacy; the era of ZEC may just be beginning.
Bitcoin represents value storage, Ethereum represents value creation, while privacy coins represent value protection.
In a future where AI, CBDC, and on-chain identities intertwine, privacy is the new freedom.
Naval's statement may signal the logic of the next era:
Bitcoin is the insurance of fiat, $ZEC is the insurance of Bitcoin!
And Arthur Hayes's declaration serves as a price annotation for this logic.
Whether ZEC can truly reach $10,000 or not, it has redefined a question—what privacy do we actually have in a decentralized future?
