Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, has revealed that Zcash (ZEC) has risen to become the second-largest holding in his family office, Maelstrom, trailing only Bitcoin (BTC). This announcement, made on November 7, 2025, has stirred considerable interest within the cryptocurrency community, especially given Zcash's recent price surge.
Hayes attributed Zcash's increased portfolio weight to its "rapid ascent in price". The price of ZEC has seen substantial gains recently, reaching levels not seen since 2018. In the past month, Zcash has increased by 434.05%, and over the last year, it has increased by 1.15K%. Within the last week, the price has risen by 97.11%. ZEC's price currently sits at $680.67, up 23.98% in the last 24 hours.
Zcash has re-entered the top 20 cryptocurrencies, boasting a market capitalization of $9.4 billion. The coin's resurgence is particularly notable given the backdrop of a wider market downturn.
Hayes has been a long-time proponent of decentralization and privacy in finance. His investment in Zcash highlights his conviction that privacy coins will play a crucial role in the crypto space. Zcash is recognized as a privacy-focused asset in the cryptocurrency market, where it competes with payment-oriented cryptocurrencies like XRP. Its privacy technology uses zero-knowledge proofs, enabling users to "shield" their transactions by encrypting addresses, transaction amounts, and memo fields. The rise in ZEC's price is tied to market enthusiasm surrounding these shielded transactions. The amount of shielded ZEC in circulation has climbed to almost 5 million.
To further encourage market participation, Hayes announced a Zcash meme contest, offering 10 ZEC to the creator of the "most aggressive, funny, or witty meme".
Hayes' family office, Maelstrom, is also seeking to raise $250 million for its first private equity fund, Maelstrom Equity Fund I, to acquire established businesses within the crypto ecosystem. The fund will focus on profitable "off-chain" firms, such as trading infrastructure providers and analytics platforms, rather than token-based projects. Maelstrom plans to invest between $40 million and $75 million per deal across four to six acquisitions. The fund is targeting a first close by March 2026 and a final close by September 2026.
Hayes's investment strategy involves structuring his portfolio to adapt to market conditions while managing risk. Hayes's portfolio includes Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), LooksRare (LOOKS), GMX (GMX), Boba Network (BOBA), and PEPE. His focus is on DeFi, Layer 2 scaling, and altcoins with high potential.
The rise of Zcash reflects renewed investor interest in secure, anonymous digital transactions. As regulatory oversight increases, privacy coins like ZEC may see increased adoption from users seeking financial confidentiality.
