Cypherpunk Doubles Down on Zcash With $29M Treasury Buy

Zcash is quickly becoming a long-term balance sheet asset thanks to renewed global debates over surveillance and data transparency. In contrast, Prenetics stopped its Bitcoin buying program to refocus capital on scaling its fast-growing nutrition brand IM8. 

Cypherpunk Bets Big on Zcash

Nasdaq-listed Cypherpunk Technologies expanded its corporate crypto treasury with a new acquisition of Zcash. The company revealed that it purchased 56,418 ZEC for approximately $29 million, paying an average price of about $514 per token. 

After the transaction, Cypherpunk’s total Zcash holdings now stand at roughly 290,062.67 ZEC, which is about 1.76% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply. The firm has made clear that this is not a one-off purchase, and chief investment officer Will McEvoy stated that Cypherpunk ultimately wants to accumulate 5% of the total ZEC supply.

Announcement from Cypherpunk

The acquisition follows Cypherpunk’s recent transformation from its former identity as biotech firm Leap Therapeutics. The company rebranded in November as a Zcash-focused digital asset company, which has been well received by markets. 

Since the rebrand, Cypherpunk’s stock climbed by nearly 170%, rising from around $0.44 to roughly $1.18, according to CoinCodex data. The company is backed by Winklevoss Capital, the investment arm of Gemini founders Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss.

Zcash launched in 2016 as a Bitcoin fork, and is designed to enable private transactions using zero-knowledge proofs that conceal the sender, recipient, and transaction amount. Like Bitcoin, Zcash has a capped supply of 21 million tokens, a feature that appeals to investors looking for scarcity alongside enhanced privacy. 

The token’s recent price performance has been quite impressive. In fact, ZEC surged by almost 800% over the past year to trade above $525, according to CoinCodex data. By comparison, Bitcoin has declined by roughly 5% over the same period.

ZEC price action over the past year (Source: CoinCodex)

The rally in Zcash coincided with renewed global debate around privacy in the digital age, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, data collection, and surveillance technologies. Several influential crypto commentators, including former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes and Helius co-founder Mert Mumtaz, pointed to Zcash’s privacy features as a key reason for its outperformance relative to other altcoins. Zcash Foundation executive director Alex Bornstein also argued that the momentum reflects organic demand tied to growing unease over government overreach and digital transparency.

Despite the bullish narrative, some analysts still urge caution. Crypto analyst Eric Van Tassel warned that a corrective pullback toward the $400 level is still possible in the near term.

Prenetics Pauses Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

While Cypherpunk Technologies is forging ahead with its treasury strategy, other companies are taking a step back. Nasdaq-listed Prenetics Global Limited stopped its Bitcoin treasury buying program, ending a daily accumulation strategy that was announced in June. The decision is a clear pivot away from crypto balance-sheet expansion and toward scaling IM8, a nutrition brand co-founded with former football star David Beckham.

According to a statement that was released Tuesday, Prenetics paused its Bitcoin purchases on Dec. 4 and does not plan to acquire any more BTC. The company said its capital and operational focus will instead center on growing IM8, which sells an all-in-one daily nutrition supplement. Prenetics said IM8 surpassed $100 million in annualized recurring revenue within just 11 months of launch, which appears to have driven the strategic shift.

Statement from Prenetics

Despite halting new purchases, Prenetics will keep its existing Bitcoin holdings. The company currently holds 510 BTC on its balance sheet, alongside more than $70 million in cash and cash equivalents. In June, Prenetics launched its Bitcoin reserve strategy with an initial $20 million investment, acquiring roughly 187 BTC at an average price of $106,712 per coin.  Shares of Prenetics fell 3.32% in Tuesday trading on Nasdaq after the announcement, though the stock is still up nearly 170% year to date, according to CoinCodex data. 

Prenetics YTD share price (Source: CoinCodex)

The move comes as corporate Bitcoin adoption continues to expand across public markets. Data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET shows that 192 publicly traded companies now hold Bitcoin, collectively owning close to 1.1 million BTC. A big portion of that total is held by Strategy, the firm led by Michael Saylor that pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury model in 2020. 

After its latest purchase, Strategy now holds 672,497 BTC. Speaking on a podcast Tuesday, Strategy chief financial officer Andrew Kang said the company is still very much committed to buying and holding Bitcoin.

Not everyone shares that optimism. GoMining Institutional managing director Fakhul Miah previously warned that some firms may be rushing to copy the Bitcoin treasury playbook without adequate risk management, raising concerns about sustainability as market conditions shift.