Arthur Hayes pegs Zcash target at 10% of Bitcoin price

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says his target for Zcash is 10% of Bitcoin’s price, arguing ZEC’s latest rally is early innings despite mounting pressure on privacy coins.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has set an aggressive upside target for privacy coin Zcash, telling followers on X that his “target price for ZEC is 10% of the BTC price.” In the same post, Hayes added that the current uptrend “still has a lot of room for growth,” signaling he believes the recent move in ZEC is just the early phase of a larger cycle.

While Hayes did not publish a full valuation model alongside the remark, the 10% anchor implies a substantial potential upside relative to current market levels. If Bitcoin were trading at $90,000, for example, a 10% ZEC/BTC ratio would suggest a ZEC price near $9,000; at $70,000 BTC, it would point to about $7,000 per ZEC. For context, Zcash’s all‑time high in late 2016 briefly spiked above $3,000 on thin order books before settling into a range that has mostly been under $1,000 for years.

Hayes has long been known for making bold macro and altcoin calls, frequently using his personal X account and essays to lay out high‑conviction, high‑volatility trades. His latest ZEC comment fits that pattern, leaning into a narrative that privacy‑focused assets could see renewed demand if regulatory surveillance ramps up or if Bitcoin’s transparent ledger becomes a liability for certain users.

The timing is notable. Privacy coins like Zcash and Monero have faced delistings on several major centralized exchanges in recent years amid anti‑money‑laundering scrutiny, even as on‑chain usage has persisted in more niche venues. That regulatory overhang makes sustained institutional inflows into ZEC less likely in the near term, but it has not stopped sharp, speculative spikes whenever market sentiment swings back toward high‑beta plays.

Hayes’s 10% of BTC target is not a consensus view among analysts, and he did not specify a timeframe for when he expects ZEC to reach that level. But for traders who track his calls, the message is clear: in his view, the current ZEC move is far from exhausted, and the coin’s upside, relative to Bitcoin, remains significant if the right mix of narrative, liquidity, and risk appetite comes together.