Arthur Hayes has put Zcash on the heart of his crypto thesis, saying in an interview with Unchained founder Laura Shin that ZEC is now “in all probability my largest place outdoors of Bitcoin.” The BitMEX co-founder framed the commerce as a wager on rising demand for monetary privateness as AI, Huge Tech and governments make public-chain exercise simpler to investigate.
Hayes stated he views Zcash because the strongest privateness asset in crypto, whereas acknowledging that the controversy between Zcash, Monero and different privateness cash stays unsettled. “I believe Zcash is the most effective,” Hayes stated. He added that he’s “not a cryptographer,” however stated his view was formed by studying competing arguments and talking with builders working immediately on privateness methods.
His argument was not that Bitcoin ought to develop into absolutely personal. Hayes stated Bitcoin’s clear ledger nonetheless has benefits for accountability, however argued that transparency comes with a rising trade-off as surveillance instruments enhance. “With AI, huge tech and large authorities, it’s very trivial to de-anonymize transactions,” he stated.
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That, in Hayes’ view, creates room for a separate privateness asset to accrue worth alongside Bitcoin slightly than inside it. He described Zcash and Monero as buying and selling at very low relative values versus BTC and known as the setup uneven if privateness demand turns into extra apparent to buyers. The catalyst, as he sees it, shouldn’t be merely regulatory stress or person desire, however the exponential enchancment of AI methods that may hyperlink exercise throughout public knowledge units.
Arthur on why the Zcash and NEAR integration is the quietly constructing mechanism that flips NEAR from inflationary to deflationary
“Shielded Zcash allows you to swap and ship any coin, USDT on Tron, Bitcoin, something, and that transaction is not going to level again to you. Fully… https://t.co/AOWKNsDRbc pic.twitter.com/tytoAgM5q0
— Laura Shin (@laurashin) Might 12, 2026
Hayes Connects Zcash And NEAR In Newest Essay
Hayes prolonged that thesis in his newest Crypto Dealer Digest essay, “The Butterfly Contact,” dated Might 11 on his Substack. Within the essay, Hayes argued that rising greenback and yuan liquidity, pushed by AI infrastructure spending, geopolitical battle and renewed credit score creation, has reopened the risk-on window for crypto markets. He stated Bitcoin bottomed earlier this yr at $60,000 and argued {that a} transfer again to $126,000 is a “foregone conclusion” if fiat liquidity retains increasing.
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The essay’s altcoin part was extra specific. Hayes wrote that it’s “time to shitcoin,” saying Hyperliquid and Zcash are already giant sufficient positions for Maelstrom, whereas NEAR is his “subsequent favourite” commerce. He stated his subsequent essay would lay out why the “privateness narrative” mixed with Close to Intents might create a “optimistic money movement scenario” for the protocol.
That framing hyperlinks Zcash and NEAR below a broader privacy-and-utility thesis. Zcash represents Hayes’ most popular pure-play privateness publicity, whereas NEAR seems to be the subsequent asset he needs to hook up with that theme via intent-based execution and potential protocol-level money movement. He argued that such a setup might assist reverse NEAR’s weak token efficiency and doubtlessly push it again towards older cycle highs.
For Zcash, Hayes’ case is extra direct. He stated privateness is more likely to develop into extra useful as public blockchains develop into simpler to interrogate with more and more succesful AI methods. “Folks need that privateness,” he stated. “And there might be a non-public different.”
At press time, Zcash traded at $541.75.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com