BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes revealed this week that Zcash (ZEC) is his largest crypto holding outside of Bitcoin. In an essay titled 'The Butterfly Touch,' Hayes argued that the privacy coin is undervalued relative to Bitcoin and that the rise of AI-powered surveillance will eventually force demand toward assets that can obscure transaction data. At press time, Zcash traded at $541.75.
Why Hayes is betting on privacy
Hayes sees Zcash as the strongest privacy asset in crypto today. He argues that with AI, big tech, and big government all improving their ability to de-anonymize public blockchains, there's room for a separate privacy asset to accrue value alongside Bitcoin — not inside it. He described both Zcash and Monero as trading at low relative values versus BTC, calling the setup 'asymmetric' if privacy demand becomes more obvious. Hayes is not a cryptographer, but he said he formed his view by reading competing arguments and speaking with developers working on privacy systems.
The catalyst: better AI surveillance
The trigger for that demand, per Hayes, is the exponential improvement of AI systems that can link activity across public data sets. He argues that as surveillance tech gets cheaper and more effective, the premium for coins that can hide transaction trails will rise. That's a longer-term bet, but he's putting capital behind it now.
Risk-on window and Bitcoin's path
In the same essay, Hayes said rising dollar and yuan liquidity — driven by AI infrastructure spending, geopolitical conflict, and renewed credit creation — has reopened the risk-on window for crypto markets. He said Bitcoin bottomed earlier this year at $60,000 and argued a move back to $126,000 is a 'foregone conclusion' if fiat liquidity keeps expanding. That's a bold call, but Hayes has been consistently bullish on macro-driven crypto rallies.
'Time to shitcoin' — NEAR and Hyperliquid
Hayes also wrote that it is 'time to shitcoin,' naming Hyperliquid and Zcash as already large enough positions for his fund Maelstrom. His next favorite trade is NEAR Protocol. Hayes links Zcash and NEAR under a privacy-and-utility thesis, suggesting that the privacy narrative combined with Near Intents could create a 'positive cash flow situation' for NEAR. The essay didn't disclose exact position sizes, but the directional bet is clear: privacy-first assets and infrastructure that can generate revenue from that thesis.
The market hasn't reacted dramatically yet, but Zcash is up about 8% since the essay dropped. Whether Hayes' asymmetric bet pays off depends on how quickly AI surveillance tools become widespread — and how much users care.
