Bitcoin 1st, Zcash 2nd: Arthur Hayes’ Surprising Portfolio Move

Arthur Hayes co-founder of BitMEX has revealed that Zcash (ZEC) is now the second-largest liquid holding in his family office Maelstrom

trailing only ￰0￱ to his post on X the shift follows a rapid run-up in ZEC’s market value that has moved the coin back into the conversation among big ￰1￱ Names Zcash Second Biggest Asset Based on reports Zcash has risen dramatically since September gaining more than 700% over that span and hitting intraday highs above $700 earlier this ￰2￱ surge pushed ZEC back into the top 20 coins by market capitalization

with several outlets placing its market cap in the roughly $9 billion to $11 billion range as trading volumes ￰3￱ price moves are being linked to renewed interest in privacy features and a wave of retail and speculative ￰4￱ to the rapid ascent in price $ZEC is now the 2nd largest *LIQUID* holding in @MaelstromFund portfolio behind $BTC . — Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) November 7 2025 Bold Targets Spark Attention Reports have noted that Hayes has floated an aggressive long-term target for ZEC — $10,000 — a figure that grabbed headlines and helped fuel further ￰5￱ described ZEC as Maelstrom ’s second-largest liquid holding though he stopped short of listing the exact dollar amount or the percentage of the portfolio ￰6￱ detail has left observers guessing about how big a stake Maelstrom actually ￰7￱ a Friday post on X

Hayes wrote: “Due to the rapid ascent in price ZEC is now the second largest *LIQUID* holding in MaelstromFund portfolio behind BTC.” Privacy Coins Draw Renewed Attention Analysts and market commentaries say the rally has put a spotlight back on privacy coins with Zcash’s shielded-transaction options often cited as a core technical feature behind the token’s ￰8￱ the same time privacy tokens carry an extra layer of regulatory risk in some jurisdictions

and some exchanges or services have in the past tightened access to such ￰9￱ mix of promise and caution is part of why ZEC’s jump is drawing close ￰10￱ Events And On-Chain Activity Traders will be watching several concrete things: on-chain metrics for shielded versus transparent transfers exchange flows and whether large holders move coins and the effect of a scheduled Zcash supply change expected in mid-November that will cut miner rewards — an event some traders say could tighten available ￰11￱ has been extreme; one day’s gain can be followed by sharp losses and liquidity can ebb when prices move ￰12￱ disclosure from a high-profile investor puts Zcash back in the headlines and could draw more capital into privacy ￰13￱ image from Pexels

chart from TradingView